Every Dog Has Its Day
by unicyclehippo
Summary: Someone has given a love potion to Emma. Only, well, it didn't work quite the way they'd hoped. Turns out they got a few ingredients wrong and not only does Emma think she's a dog but she seems to find one Regina Mills quite...fetching.
1. Gone To The Dogs

**Every Dog Has Its Day: Chapter One**

**I don't own Once Upon A Time.**

**Please enjoy. **

Story: Someone has tried to work a love spell on Emma. Only, well, it didn't turn out quite the way they'd hoped. Not only does Emma think she's a dog but she seems to find one Regina Mills quite…fetching. (See what I did there?)

Gone To The Dogs:

The night was dark, as nights tend to be. As it edged its way towards morning, the night sky took on a mildly daunting purple hue, warning the inhabitants of Storybrooke to sleep, to pass this time in blissful slumber, to stay inside and asleep until the threatening creatures of the dark returned to their caves and tunnels and left their little town in peace once again. Obediently, subconsciously, Storybrooke turned out their lights and snuggled into their beds. All, that is, except for one man.

It was dark in Rumple's basement, lit only by a single flickering candle held high by a man. A man who, fumbling his way through the casks and vials and potions, was angry and hurt and plotting.

"She doesn't understand," he muttered to himself. "But this'll show her that I'm serious." He grabbed a vial from the shelf and poured it into an empty cauldron. A splash of red erupted, smoking, from within the cauldron and he hurried dashed in a bit of purple, a sprinkle of herbs, a splash of this and that. All well thought out, he thought. "A little Devil's Snare, to bind. A little hair of wolf to make her," he chuckled, "_wild_. A few leaves of sweet mint to counter her bitterness, a drop of dog saliva for loyalty, and rose for passion. Some goat stomach as a base and just a drop of love." He dropped each ingredient into the cauldron and stirred until it ceased bubbling and swirled smoothly, a delicious caramel colour. "Perfect," he whispered. Even he was entranced by the remarkable looking potion. "Now to get the saviour to drink my true love's potion."

* * *

It had taken a really, really long time, some begging, a shit ton of paperwork and hours of unpaid work, but Emma finally had permission from Regina to take Henry out for afternoon tea. She was practically vibrating as she waited for him at the bus stop. With nerves, as per usual, and also the usual excitement. It was always fun to spend time with Henry. He was smart and funny and every day Emma learnt something new about him.

It was times like these, wandering down the street together with her son, that she thought of Regina. What did she know about Henry? What stories could she tell, if she was so inclined? One day, maybe, she would invite Regina with them.

"Emma!" The blonde halted and closed her eyes tight. "Emma! Henry! Hey there, kid." Henry greeted his father with a wide smile and a hug. Emma, on the other hand, turned slowly and gave him a small nod and not a trace of a smile. She knew why he was here. Mary Margaret had told him. She couldn't keep her mouth shut about anything, of course, and Emma had stupidly confided in her that Regina was letting her take Henry out for a treat. _Stupid_, she berated herself. _That's what you get for telling Mary Margaret anything_.

"What do you want, Neal?"

He held his hands up in surrender. "Look, I just wanted to join you guys for lunch. Is that a crime?" he asked with that stupid dopey grin of his that she used to love so goddamn much. It hurt to look at him, to remember all the good times and to feel all over again that swooping, crushing free-fall in her stomach that she was almost used to when she thought of him and his betrayal.

When Emma started walking again, Neal fell into step with them without a word and she focused on the pavement and on walking in a straight line. Her mouth was set firmly into an impassive expression. She didn't want to fight in front of Henry.

"Emma," Henry whispered to her, "can he join us?"

"Maybe," she grunted. _Not bloody likely_, she thought.

They were at Granny's then and Emma stopped at one of the booths. She nudged Henry and nodded to the bar in a silent command to go and order for them. He looked disappointed. Of course he wanted to see the outcome of the discussion that was building between his parents but he slowly, pouting the whole way, made his way over to Ruby.

The second he was gone, Neal started to talk. "Look, Em, I know that last night didn't go all that well."

"Neal,"

"But you have to know that I'm sorry. I had to do it – Storybrooke was your destiny and I couldn't stand in the way of that."

"Neal, stop it. Last night was a disaster because this is what you were talking about the whole time. I'm sick of it. If you want to be friends," Emma sighed, hoping to god that he would just leave her alone, let her go on with her life, "then just stop. Saying sorry doesn't change anything and I'm sick of it." He opened his mouth to argue and she shook her head. "Please, Neal."

"I _am_ sorry," he said.

"Okay." She rubbed her forehead. "That's great for you." She dropped into a booth and stared mulishly at a menu she'd memorised months ago, intent on ignoring him.

Neal stared at her for a few moments and then sat tentatively opposite her. "Emma, I get it. I'll leave you alone." He hesitated. "Maybe I can see Henry every so often?" She nodded straight away. She'd never deny Henry anything, especially not his father. He grinned widely. "Great. And look, I'll back off. But just, let me buy you a drink? As a peace offering?"

Emma rolled her eyes but Neal was a good enough sort and she didn't want Henry to see her being furious with his father – even if he did deserve it. She nodded. "Hot chocolate."

Neal grinned. "Great. I'll be right back." He slid out of the chair and strode over to Henry, clapping a hand onto the boy's shoulder as he gave Ruby the drinks order.

Henry came and joined Emma at the table and she slowly relaxed as he spoke animatedly about his day, describing in incredible detail the swords class and science and what they'd worked on in English. She'd almost forgotten about Neal until he placed a drink down in front of her and another one in front of Henry. Emma's eyes cut to him but he held up his hands in a placating gesture.

"I'm not staying," he said. "Relax, please Em." Her jaw clenched. "Hey, have a good one yeah Henry?"

Henry, of course, leapt out of his seat to hug his father goodbye, which was enthusiastically returned. Emma watched him leave and take a place on the other side of the diner, relieved, and slowly sipped the hot chocolate. It tasted weird, different, but still excellent. She drained the whole glass soon enough and, when Henry giggled at her, wiped her face dramatically clean of the offending whipped cream.

"Are you guys getting back together?" Henry asked, a little suspiciously.

"No, kid, we're not."

"So he wasn't asking you on a date?"

"No. We were just talking." Emma bit her lip and then leant closer to Henry, catching his eye. "We'll never get back together, Henry. You do know that, right?" Henry frowned. "We're different people than we used to be."

"So you're _definitely_ not getting back together?"

"That's right. But we might be friends. Maybe. And you still get to hang out with him if you want to."

Neal had loitered to overhear the conversation and he grinned into his own mug of coffee. When the potion kicked in, she would run to him. She would run to him and profess with eyes of passion what he had known – that she still loved him and always would. They and their son would be together, finally a family, and they could leave this horrible place that only reminded him of his father and his father's betrayal. He would have everything he'd ever wanted.

His eyes softened as he looked towards Emma and Henry. His kid was using big gestures to describe something and Emma was leaning forward, enraptured by his story. They looked perfect. _A house together_, he thought wistfully,_ and a family. That would be nice. We could even get the kid a dog_.

**I had this idea ages ago and I'm stuck at the moment with Coffee To Go so I thought I would write this chapter. Let me know what you think! Happy reading, readers :)**


	2. A Dogs Life For Me

**Every Dog Has Its Day: Chapter Two**

**I don't own Once Upon A Time.**

**Please enjoy.**

A Dogs Life For Me:

Emma checked her watch after the meal and she nudged Henry with her elbow. "Hey, kid, you don't have to be back at your moms for another forty minutes. Want to go for a walk?"

Henry nodded eagerly. They'd done it before, gone for a walk and convinced Regina that they'd just lost track of time, and he always wanted to spend more time with Emma. Not that he thought his mom was _so_ bad anymore – Evil Queen, yes, but still his mom – but Emma was fun and childish and she irritated his mom a lot and that could be really funny.

Twenty minutes later, Emma felt it. A pain in her stomach. She drifted a hand lightly across her stomach and attributed the pain to a cramp, having scoffed her afternoon tea down in less than five minutes and followed it up with exercise. It didn't sit quite right with her – she'd scoffed food before and she was fit so it didn't make sense – but what else could it be? She ignored it and they continued walking.

After twenty-five minutes, the world spun around her as she hopped over a log and she had to press her hand onto Henry's shoulder to keep steady. He looked up at her, concerned, but she waved it away. "Dehydration," she told him, and shook her head. "I'll have a big drink when I get home." He nodded and they kept walking.

But thirty-four minutes into the walk, Emma was getting hot. Really hot. She tugged at the collar of her shirt a few times and then pushed her sleeves up to her elbows. It allowed a small bit of cool air to touch her skin and she appreciated it. She squinted up at the sun and frowned. It wasn't _that_ bright and it was pretty late in the day. Emma tugged at her collar again. _So why am I so hot?_

"Emma, are you listening?" Emma looked down into her son's eyes and, after a moment, nodded. "Really?" He pursed his lips sceptically and Emma had to laugh. He looked so much like his mother in that moment. "What?" She just shook her head. "Okay – what was I talking about?"

"Oh." Put on the spot, Emma tried to recall the last thing he'd said. "Something about your marks in English?"

"Emma," he scolded, "that was like twenty minutes ago." He shook his head and frowned, pulling away a little from his mother. When he kicked at the ground, he sent a stick skittering away across the grass. Emma's body tensed automatically and she took a big step forward, intent on chasing after that stick. "Emma?" Her legs locked and she froze, bringing a hand to her head.

"That was weird." She laughed it away. "I really wanted to chase that stick." Henry gave her a strange sideways look before he shrugged. His blonde mother had always been a little odd. She felt a pang in her chest when she saw how dejected he was, thinking she didn't care about his story, and she gripped his shoulder. "Look, kid, I'm sorry. Tell me what you were talking about. I promise I'll pay attention."

Henry shrugged. "It's not a big deal," he murmured.

"Yes it is." She said it firmly and he looked up, searching her eyes so he knew that she was sincere. Emma smiled and nudged him, eliciting a small grin. "If it's important to you, it's important to me." When he still looked a little sceptical, she made a cross over her heart. "Promise. I was just feeling a little dizzy and I got distracted." She nudged him again. "Come on, tell me."

He beamed. "Okay! Well, we were in class this morning-"

"Wait – which class?"

"Science. I was _about _to get to that." He shot her a filthy look. "Don't interrupt."

"Okay, okay. Go on."

"So we were playing with the chemicals and, like, Princess Ana was teaching us all the proper scientific method and stuff and she said that _mine_ was the most thorough and I got a really good mark for it." He beamed with pride and Emma ruffled his hair.

"Hey, great job kid!" _Yet more proof he's Regina's son_, she thought. _I got crappy grades in school_. "You can-" A strange feeling overtook Emma and she touched her stomach.

"I can what, Emma?" She faintly heard Henry saying and her mouth twisted into a frown. "Emma?"

The strange feeling turned into a terrifying one and she cried out. "Henry," she choked out. Then she groaned, her stomach feeling like it was burning. And the heat she felt spread out in a sudden wave, washing all over her body to her fingers and toes and up her neck, into her head. "Henry, I don't feel so good." Emma bent over double and one hand gripped her stomach, the other pressed to her temple.

"Emma?"

She fell to her knees and cried out again, arms wrapping tight around her stomach. It felt like the contents of her stomach were bubbling and her skin felt too tight, too hot. She felt like she was missing something, someone, she had to be somewhere. But she couldn't move and when she tried, her stomach swirled and her limbs felt heavy.

Henry, naturally, began to freak out.

"Emma! Emma, what's wrong?" He looked around but no one was in sight to help. He dropped to his knees next to her and grabbed her shoulders. "Emma!"

"S-something's wrong, kid," she managed to get out from behind pain clenched teeth. She moved slowly - as fast as she could - for her phone in her pocket and fumbled with leaden, stubborn fingers with it until it dropped onto the ground. She nudged it toward Henry with a fist that refused to open. "Call your mom." A small whimpering sound erupted from her throat and she curled tighter. "Hurry, kid."

He dialled Regina's number and her dark voice immediately answered. "Miss Swan, you are nine minutes late with my son. You had better have a good reason or I swear to god-"

"Mom," Henry broke in, interrupted.

"Henry?" On the other end of the line, Regina stood. She hadn't heard this tone from her son often but it always meant something bad. "What's wrong, Henry? Where is Emma? Put her on the phone."

"I, I can't. Mom, something's happening to her. She was dizzy and hot and then she fell. Mom, please!" he blabbered into the phone.

She realised she wouldn't get much more out of him and spoke soothingly to him for a moment. "Henry, I need you to calm down dear. Tell me where you are. That's all I need to know. Just tell me where you are."

"Mom she's really bad." He looked at his blonde mother, who had one hand digging into the ground and the other still balled up and pressed against her belly. She whimpered. "Mom-"

"Henry. Tell me where you are. Now."

Henry looked up and took a deep breath. "We, we're in the park," he said in a shaking voice. "We passed the creek and there's a, a big tree with a hollow in it and there's a clearing up ahead."

Regina disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. She knew where that was. Henry saw her appear and ran to her. She knelt immediately, paying no mind to the dirt, and searched his face and body for any injury. Seeing none, she took the phone, ended the call, and slid it into her purse. Then, spying Emma, she strode over to the woman.

She was still, was the first thing Regina noticed. Very still. Possible unconscious. "She wasn't like this," Henry said from behind her. Regina looked back and found he was wringing his hands. "She was, like, jerking around and crying." Now Emma was in the foetal position, loosely, and her face was utterly serene.

Regina nodded. "Thank you, dear." She cast a quick spell to detect poison or harmful spells but found nothing. So, cautiously, she reached out and touched Emma's shoulder. "Miss Swan?" There was no response. She shook the woman, just a little. "Emma?"

Henry crouched next to the blonde and shook her hard. Regina almost scolded him but saw the tears of worry in his eyes and let him try. "Emma?" he murmured. "Come on, get up." He turned to Regina. "Is she dead?"

But she was already shaking her head. "My spell told me she is completely well. I don't know why she isn't awake."

Henry frowned down at Emma and tried once more. "Emma," he whispered, poking her shoulder. Finally, Emma reacted. She growled and batted his hand away. "Emma," he cried out, so_ so_ relieved that she felt it and that she had done something that proved - thank god - that she wasn't dead. "Wake up," he commanded. "Get up, Emma."

"Yes, do get up Miss Swan. You are frightening my son." Strangely enough, it was her stern voice that made Emma move. The blonde yawned widely, so wide that her jaw cracked a little, and she sat in one smooth move. Then, Emma's head moved to look at Regina, then Henry, then back to Regina. Her head tilted a little to the side and Regina frowned. That move looked oddly familiar.

"I think she's confused," Henry said. "'Cause you weren't here and now you are."

"Yes," Regina said slowly. "That must be it." She nodded to Emma and stood, brushing the dirt and the leaf litter away from her stockinged knees. "I will be taking Henry now." She was going to move away, reaching out for Henry, but Emma did something that was, well…unexpected to say the least.

Emma bounded to her feet, planted her hands on Regina's shoulders and she looked into the darker woman's eyes for a long moment. Then, grinning madly, she licked one long stripe all the way from Regina's chin to her left eyebrow. She panted happily in her face for a moment and then darted away, to Henry, and proceeded to do exactly the same thing to her son, though she also nuzzled his hair for a moment.

She trotted away to sniff at the leaves and the ground and the trees and that log and that oddly protruding branch, leaving two shell-shocked people behind. Regina and Henry stood very, very still as they tried to process what had just happened. At the same moment, they shuddered and wiped their faces with their sleeves.

"Oh my god," Henry whispered. "Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew!" He wiped his face roughly and whined, "That was so gross."

Regina looked enraged. "What the hell was that?" she shrieked, sending a small fireball whizzing towards the now once again vile Miss Swan. Emma dodged it, falling to her hands and knees again, and looked over her shoulder with an expression of utmost betrayal. And, Regina noticed, the blonde just whined high in her throat instead of yelling.

"Oh my god," Henry said again as he watched Emma. He had stopped scrubbing at his face and instead gaped. "Mom," he muttered, tugging on her sleeve. "Mom, I think she's…" He trailed away and they both watched as Emma continued to explore, very happily sniffing at every single thing in the vicinity. She frightened a moth from its resting place and their mouths dropped further open as Emma's face contorted into a strange mix of aggression and delight and she snapped at the flying creature, jumping after it and growling.

"She's a dog," Henry said finally.

"Yes," Regina said, as quietly as her son had. "Yes she is."

And even though Henry had been the one to say it, he still grabbed a stick, waved it around a bit to get Emma's attention, and flung it. She sprinted after it and, a long, tense moment of anticipation later, Emma returned. The stick was in her mouth, she was grinning widely around it, and she was trotting towards Henry incredibly happily.

"Yep," he said. "She's a dog."

**How was that? Fun? This story is going to be about 98% funny, hopefully, so look forward to that. It's just light relief as I try to figure out what to write for my other stories (and also I've been wanting to write it for about a month now). Reviews are always welcome. Happy reading, readers :)**


	3. The Bark and the Bite

**Every Dog Has Its Day: Chapter Three**

**I don't own Once Upon A Time.**

**Please enjoy.**

The Bark and the Bite:

Regina, somehow, convinced Emma to drop the stick. She grabbed it at first and tugged, expecting Emma to release it, but she didn't count on the utter stubbornness of the woman who clenched her teeth tightly and widened her grin, excited that Regina was playing a game of tug-of-war with her. Henry watched as his mothers fought over the stick. It was generally funny, until he remembered that Emma had her end of the stick in her mouth and then it was a little weird. Finally, Regina took her hand away. Emma trotted in a circle, holding the stick up with pride at winning. Her grin faltered a little – Henry swore her ears drooped as much as they could, human or not – when Regina planted her hands on her hips and scowled at her.

"Drop it," Regina commanded. "Now." Emma whined but opened her jaw enough that the stick fell and thumped to the forest floor. "Come here." She pointed at the ground in front of her and Emma sidled over, watching Regina's face cautiously. She was right to be suspicious because the witch planted a hand on Emma's neck, gripping firmly, and one on Henry's shoulder and they all disappeared in a puff of smoke.

They reappeared in the foyer of Regina's home. Emma evidently hated the transportation because she immediately wriggled away from Regina's gripping hand and wheezed at the smell of the smoke, shaking her head and exhaling sharply to clear her nostrils, and then snapped her teeth loudly at the little plumes until they'd all dispersed.

"She's kind of cute," Henry commented as Emma trotted around the foyer. She kept eyeing Regina, who noted that with a smug smirk, and returning to Henry's side time and again. Henry's smile, fond, turned mischievous. He turned wide brown eyes on his mom. "Can we keep her?" he asked childishly. "Oh _please_ can we keep her?"

Regina shook her head. "We'll return her to her parents," she said, ignoring his pleading eyes. "They can deal with this mess."

"But mom-"

"No buts." She looked him up and down, eyeing the stains on his clothes. "Go and shower. Please put your clothes in the hamper and then you can do your homework in my office."

"But mom-"

"No buts!" she called as she walked into her office.

"Fine," he whined. Emma nudged at his hand and he looked up at her. "How come you don't walk on all fours?" he asked curiously. She tilted her head to the side and whined, eyes wide. "You don't know what I'm saying, do you?" She grinned widely at him and let her tongue loll a little. "Oh well. Come on, I'll show you my room."

She followed him obediently and curled up on his bed when he left to shower. When he went downstairs, she trotted after him and Henry continued into the office. He only realised that Emma wasn't behind him when he was sitting on the couch. "Uh-oh," he murmured. "Emma?"

He darted out of the room and returned to the stairs. "Emma?" There was an answering happy bark but it didn't come from upstairs. It came from…oh no. The kitchen.

Henry ran to the kitchen and sucked in a deep breath. He closed his eyes, counted to three and opened them again but the damage was still done. Emma was sitting on the floor and grinning up at him. The garbage bin had been knocked over but from the looks of it, thank god, she hadn't eaten anything yet. There was some minor damage done to the cupboard door but they were mostly nail scratches. He supposed she wasn't quite sure how to open the door.

"Henry? Are you doing your homework?"

"Uh…" His voice must have sounded too hesitant or too worried because Regina was there in less than three seconds. She looked at the damage and the incredibly happy Emma and just shook her head.

"Get her out of my kitchen."

"Yes mom." He ran over to Emma, who tried to lick his face again, and he pushed down on her shoulders until she stopped. "Come on, Emma. Come on." He grabbed her wrist and started to pull but she wouldn't move, possibly thinking this was some new kind of game. She dug her heels in as much as possible and panted happily as he tried to pull her.

"Emma," came the stern voice of Regina. The darker woman just pointed – _out_, that finger told the puppy-like woman – and Emma bowed her head and scurried out of the room.

While Regina cleaned the kitchen, Henry settled himself on the office couch and Emma curled herself at his feet. After some prodding, she allowed him to place a pillow under her head though she clearly thought it was strange, what with her sniffing at it and walking around it and patting it with her hand as she tried to understand it. When she understood, quite quickly, that it was soft, she burrowed her head into it and enjoyed it quite thoroughly.

Henry tucked his feet under his mother, seeing as she wouldn't move at all, and enjoyed the warmth and heavy weight on his legs much as he did with Pongo at his therapy sessions. Some time later, he heard the door creak open and his mother stood at the door. She looked upon the scene with no small amount of amusement and summoned her camera, taking a quick picture of the moment. Emma's nose twitched and she blinked an eye blearily at the woman but other than that she didn't move. Henry smiled for the camera.

"Henry," Regina said, "your insufferable grandparents are on the phone." She handed it over to him and, though she disapproved of the Charmings, she thought that the bright beaming smile on her sons face was exactly what she always wanted. How horrible it was for others to give it to him so easily and she was incapable.

"Hi Gram!" His face fell immediately. "Where's Emma? Well, um," he panicked and looked up at Regina. "That's a good question." She rolled her eyes. Henry was horrible at lying. "She's here with me." A pause. "Yes, at moms house." Another pause. "Um, well, she seems to be enjoying herself." And that was true. Emma stretched happily before curling up again, pushing against her boys legs. "Uhuh. Okay. Bye." He handed the phone reluctantly back to Regina, who raised a brow. He shrugged apologetically. "They'll be here in five minutes."

"Of course. I look forward to it," she lied through clenched teeth.

* * *

"Why on earth do you have a sword, Charming?" Regina crossed her arms and glared at the man. Snow wasn't much better. After all, she came armed with her stupidity _and_ her husband.

"To defend myself," he grumbled. "And so I may retrieve my daughter from you."

"I've hardly captured her. In fact, I would love it if you would remove her. I'll even say _please._" She rolled her eyes. "Your daughter is bad enough usually with her _charming_ genes," Regina spat. "It's hardly a joy to know that she's inside my house shedding and destroying whatever she can reach and then some." That comment arose due to an incident with a vase. Not entirely Emma's fault – Henry had been the one to initiate a game of tag after all, but she had skidded on the smooth marble floor and run into a wall, the impact of which had prompted the vase to fall. Still, insufferable.

"Shedding?" Snow screeched.

"Yes, well, about that…" Regina hesitated and then smirked. Oh she couldn't wait for their reactions. She had to say it. "She's a bit of a dog."

"Hey!" David shouted. "My daughter is no dog."

"Oh I beg to differ." Her smirk only broadened. "She is most definitely a mutt. I do hope you brought a collar and leash because she's being quite wilful and you may have to restrain her."

"Mom," Henry said quietly. "It's probably not a great idea to make them upset." Regina sighed. But it was _so much fun_. Still, she didn't really want to be blamed for an incident that was so dramatic and ridiculously fantastical that only Miss Swan could have got herself into it, so she allowed Henry to continue. "Grams, Gramps, see Emma had a bit of an accident and she kind of, sort of, maybe thinks that she's a dog." He nodded firmly as though that made sense and smiled up at his grandparents.

"What?"

"What about that wasn't clear?" Regina snapped. "Your daughter is a mutt, now get her out of my house before she tries to acquaint her butt with my lawn!"

"Regina!"

Maybe it was the impossible shrillness of Snow's voice or maybe it was the yelling in general but whatever it was, Emma came running. And, because Henry had helped her out of her shoes and she was in socks, she slid all the way to the front door and stumbled out to stand next to Regina and Henry.

"Emma!" Snow and David both said, utterly relieved that she looked fine. But then they looked closer and she looked…not like their Emma. She was smiling too broadly, for one, and looked too relaxed for the woman they knew. Plus, her mouth was open and she was breathing heavily as though panting. "What the hell did you do to her, Regina? We were in a _truce_." David snarled and raised his sword. "I knew we couldn't trust you."

At the threatening movement, all traces of the fun loving puppy disappeared and a new, more frightening version of Emma appeared. She placed herself squarely into front of Regina, the focus of their attention, and growled lowly in her throat. When David wavered, she bared her teeth a little, the upper lip pulling back in a dangerous snarl.

"What have you done to her?" Snow yelled, backing up her husband as she yelled over Emma's shoulder. "You've transformed her into some _beast. _This is strange and dangerous magic, even for you, you evil _bitch_."

Emma might not have understood the meanings of the words but she heard the hate pure and simple. She hunched her shoulders and narrowed her eyes. Every muscles was tense and Henry, frightened, laid a hand on her arm. She relaxed instantly, her head whipping to the side to look at him. Emma's eyes darted over him, checking, and Henry could almost read the thoughts in her head – _is puppy okay? Puppy is fine. Puppy is safe. Back to growling at scary people_ – and he patted her on the elbow.

Emma backed up, pushing Henry and Regina into the house without taking her eyes away from Snow and David. Regina refused to move but Emma was quite insistent so she rolled her eyes and stepped back into her home.

"You think you can get away with turning our daughter against us?" David called out. "You can't. We will never give up on our daughter and I know that she will _never_ stop fighting you until she is whole and hale again. We will do anything to get her back."

"Then perhaps you should stop fighting _me_ for once, you idiot," Regina called out. "Look somewhere else."

"Don't you call my husband an idiot!" Snow yelled, advancing on the house. Which, really, was probably the worst mistake she could have made. A snarl ripped out of Emma's throat and she lunged toward the woman, barking loudly until she retreated. Her teeth bared and eyes wild, Regina was afraid – well, not _afraid _per se – but worried that Emma would really sink her teeth into her mother's arm.

"Stop!" she yelled, stepping forward with an arm out flung. Emma stopped just short of her parents, vibrating unhappily and whining and wanting to show these miserable pups who was the boss here. She paced back and forth at the exact distance Regina had called her to stop at, baring her teeth silently at those she had decided were her enemies. "Come back, Miss Swan." Emma didn't move, though her ears twitched a little at the familiar voice. "Emma, come here," she amended. Emma trotted to her side but not without snapping her teeth one last time at the couple.

"What happened to her?" Snow asked one last time, lamenting rather than accusing. Finally.

"It wasn't moms fault!" Henry piped up again.

"As I told you," Regina huffed, taking over, "she thinks she's a dog. Now clearly she doesn't wish to go with you, _and I don't blame her_," she added under her breath. "So I suppose Henry and I will have to look after her."

"Really?" Henry yelped with excitement. Snow and David fixed her with suspicious eyes.

Regina sneered, uncomfortable with the idea of looking after Emma Swan of all people but she felt an uneasy camaraderie with anyone who would go after the Charmings' so viciously – even a Charming themselves – and she knew Henry wanted it so she jerked a nod and then slammed the door shut.

"Great," she bemoaned.

"This is going to be great!" Henry said, already hugging Emma around the waist. She didn't hug him back, didn't think she could obviously, but she was wriggling in a way that might suggest she would be wagging her tail happily right about now. Regina rolled her eyes.

"If she actually does begin to shed," she warned Henry, "she stays outside."

**Okay that's all for tonight everyone! I hope you've enjoyed the first few chapters. I love reviews and yeah. Happy reading, readers :)**


	4. In The Doghouse

**Every Dog Has Its Day: Chapter Four**

**I don't own Once Upon A Time.**

**Please enjoy.**

In The Doghouse:

Regina had a headache. All she wanted to do was lock herself in her office where it was cool and quiet. However, it wasn't meant to be. Instead, she was seated on the couch and listening to idiots mindlessly babble on about their precious daughter.

"I really don't care," she said, tired of this stupidity.

"But Regina, we have to find out who did this to Emma!"

"Not my job," she said. Why did a 'truce' make the Charmings think that she wasn't going to incinerate them if they told her one more time that Emma was a princess and the saviour and the most important person in her town blah blah blah? Or that she actually _cared_?

"You know," Charming added, "the sooner we find out who did this to her, the sooner she'll be back to being _human_?"

"And?" she drawled.

"The sooner she'll be out of your hair," he concluded.

"Oh but torturing her is so much fun." She turned her head just in time to see a scrambling Emma run into the wall. Again. "Oops."

"Oops?" she heard Snow say in the distance. "David!"

"It's alright, Snow," he calmed. "Regina wouldn't let her get hurt." Regina made a non-committal sound at that – she just might, if the blonde annoyed her enough – but David spoke over her. Probably because Snow had begun to hyperventilate. "Given Henry's insistence, we accept that you didn't do this to her, Regina, so we've decided," he said very seriously, "that Emma is the safest with you. We need to keep her out of danger until we find out who did this."

Regina considered the pseudo-request for a moment. "Very well." The Charmings shifted uncomfortably on the other end of the phone line. They didn't trust the entirely pleasant tone she was using. Well they shouldn't because Regina had a very long list of ways to make Emma's stay…uncomfortable.

One look at Henry, however, and his beaming smile had Regina sighing and locking that list away in her 'Dreams that will never be realised' part of her mind, to be occasionally thought of and considered before being returned. She hung up on the Charmings without another word, doubling their worry but that was no concern of hers, and moved into the living room.

"Stop playing with Miss Swan and go wash up for dinner, Henry." It looked for a moment like he was contemplating whether or not to complain but then after a moment he realised that Emma would still be there when he got back. He was also hungry.

"Okay," he just said.

Pleasantly surprised, Regina returned to stirring the spaghetti she'd been making before the _idiots_ called her. When she turned to grab a spoon she almost tripped over a seated Emma.

"Oh god!" Regina yelled, one hand plastered to her chest where her heart thumped erratically due to sheer terror. "What are you doing in my kitchen, Swan?" she hissed. Emma grinned up at her and, damn the woman, it was almost adorable how utterly she didn't care about her appearance now she had the mind of a canine. She just flopped and smiled and blinked and Henry was mush in her paws. Well, not Regina Mills! "What is it?" the mayor snapped when Emma continued to stare at her. The blonde whined and wriggled and 'oh no' was the only thought then running through Regina's mind. That and, "Please tell me that you're house trained."

She clicked her fingers, sending a stasis spell onto the dinner, and escorted Emma to the bathroom. Thankfully, from the sounds she was hearing, Emma knew how to use the toilet. But when Emma tried to just trot out of the room without washing her hands or flushing, Regina marched her right back in. She demonstrated flushing but Emma watched her with a little frown and a tilt to her head. And she didn't like the sound of the flush, barking loudly until it was through.

Exasperated, Regina instead brought her to the sink. The moment the tap began to run, Emma became very excited. She knelt so her face was level with the tap and stared at it before turning and pushing her face under the stream. Regina stepped back and just…watched.

Emma sneezed water out of her nose and started to lick at the water. The darker woman thought guiltily that perhaps she should have given her a drink at some point, now that she couldn't fend for herself.

When Emma had exhausted her curiosity, hair thoroughly drenched and hands only barely wet, Regina grabbed Emma's hands and held them under the water before scrubbing them thoroughly with soap. Emma was quiet as she watched the motions and then very loud in protest when she tasted the soap. She stuck her tongue out and scraped at it, which only served to worsen the taste. Emma looked pleadingly to Regina and woofed quietly.

"Help her, mom!" Regina turned, wondering how long Henry had been there for, but she took a glass of water and dumped it into Emma's mouth. She particularly liked the slack-jawed look of shock that accompanied it.

Emma promptly spat up the water, all over Regina's shirt, and Henry grabbed his blonde mother and shoved her behind him before she was incinerated at the hands of an irate queen. "She didn't mean to," he reminded Regina. The overgrown puppy lowered her head to Henry's and woofed softly in an agreement

Regina clenched her teeth. "I know," she said grudgingly. "Just get her out of my sight before I transform her _completely_."

Henry and Emma raced downstairs to finish some racing game on the television. Five minutes later, in clean clothes and dry, Regina stood in the doorway and watched them. Henry's tongue poked out as he raced seriously, his body moving in the direction of his hands. He yelled at Emma now and again to get out of the way. Emma was so excited by the sounds and bright colours of the television that she sat in front of it and barked every time something happened. So, constantly.

"Dinnertime," Regina announced quietly. She watched with amazement as Henry quickly paused the game and raced to the table. Emma joined him and she sat comfortably at his feet, even when he patted the seat next to him.

Regina stared at the sight. She hadn't actually considered that Emma was a dog in _every_ way, at least in her mind, and had laid out a third place for their unexpected guest. She made a quick decision and dumped Emma's dinner into a plastic bowl, cutting the spaghetti into smaller pieces so she wouldn't choke. Then she placed it a small distance from the table and waited. Emma waited too. She wandered over to the bowl, yes, and sat in front of it. She looked up at Regina.

"Eat," the woman commanded. "Eat." Emma yawned and scratched at her ear with her hand. "Fine. _Idiot_," she murmured, though the dig didn't have quite the same effect as it did when Emma had the capacity to respond.

She carried Henry's plate out and her own and noted with some surprise that Emma was watching her. She ate the first mouthful and then Emma began sniffing happily at her dinner. "Manners," Regina noted. "How novel of you, Miss Swan." And then, of course, Regina was promptly horrified.

Henry giggled. Regina had to close her eyes and turn away. Emma's face had planted itself in her meal and she was eating fast, evidently ravenous. Henry lowered his cutlery but Regina seemed to have a sixth sense about him and narrowed her eyes.

"Not a chance, Henry."

"But Emma gets to do it," he argued.

"Because someone made her into an _animal_. You have not been. I raised you with better manners than that." He reluctantly picked up his knife and fork again. "And I highly doubt, no matter how lowly I think of Miss Swan, that her manners would ever be like this had she a choice." Regina actually felt a little sorry for the woman, nemesis or not, that she was being humiliated like this. So she chose to ignore Emma's behaviour and simply hoped that whatever it was affecting her would wear off soon – for both their sakes.

Halfway through their meal, which was full of quiet and strained conversation despite their best efforts, they were interrupted by a crash. Both looked instantly to Emma, who was lying flat on the floor. One of her hands held her bowl still on its side as she tried to lick the remnants of her dinner from the sides. Her face was covered in sauce.

"I guess she liked it," Henry said to his mother. She rolled her eyes. Emma, hearing Henry's voice, hauled herself to her feet and trotted over to his side, plopping down on the ground next to him. He patted her on the head and continued talking with his mom. Eventually, Regina noticed that when he smiled brightly, when he came up with a new topic of discussion, his hand would slip underneath the table.

"Are you feeding her?" she asked. He blushed instantly and guiltily. "Henry Daniel Mills!"

"I'm sorry," he whined. "She just kept looking at me and nudging me and she looks so stupid I couldn't help it!"

"She had plenty to eat, Henry," she scolded.

"Fine." He pouted. "Sorry."

"As for you…" Regina stood and made Emma returned to her side. "Sit." Emma sat. "Stay." Emma watched her for a good few minutes but gave an odd shake of her body finally and curled up at Regina's feet, staring mournfully up at the woman. Regina kicked her in the ribs lightly, not daring to admit that it was more of a nudge than it was an assault. "Stop pouting," she said. "You ate."

* * *

It wasn't so hugely different, Regina realised with a sigh, than having a very small child again. Or, admittedly, a pet. An annoying pet.

"Mom, we have to give her a bath. Look at her." He flung a hand out to point at Emma. The woman was sitting casually on the floor, her mouth a sloppy grin of delight at all the attention she was getting. Henry scratched just above Emma's ear and she leaned into his hand happily. Regina didn't see the cute – she saw the dirty. Emma's face was streaked with dirt from being pressed against _everything_ as she sniffed around her new, and very temporary, home. Leaves and twigs made themselves at home in her tangle of now also filthy hair and her hands were caked with dirt.

"You want to give her a bath?" she asked Henry.

"Well…no," he admitted. He looked uncomfortable with the idea. "But you can!"

"Why would I do that?"

"Lots of reasons," he insisted.

"Give me three," she said, looking down once more at her paperwork, "and I will consider it."

Henry, she knew, smiled. She could feel it. Which meant that he thought he had three very good reasons and shortly she would be bathing Miss Swan. Oh joy.

"Easy," he announced. "One, you hate the fact that she's dirty and inside your house." That was true. Regina nodded. "You're super used to giving _me_ baths so it can't be too different with Emma who's kind of a bit of a child." Regina nodded at that. Emma was certainly childish. But not, she thought, in the ways that mattered concerning a _bath_. "And you're a girl too so you have the same bits. And," he tacked on more quietly, "you know that she'd hate to be this dirty even though you think she's stupid." Regina's head snapped up. She didn't think Miss Swan was _so_ stupid. "And even if you do hate her I don't think you'd want her to be unhappy."

Regina wondered if he knew that his statements contradicted themselves and then realised that of course he did. He was a very bright boy. Which meant that one of the statements was incorrect. She had too much of a headache to figure out which one, however, and stood instead.

"Very well," she sighed. "I'll bathe Miss Swan. But you, mister, will go to bed immediately."

"But-"

"Bed. Now. It's already late." It was, actually, already half ten and Henry knew better than to push his luck.

"Okay." To Regina's surprise, he hugged her and murmured a goodnight. Quick as the hug was, it was Henry and it was warm and everything she had been missing.

"Goodnight, Henry." She watched as he knelt next to Emma and ruffled her hair as she always did to him.

"Be good for my mom, okay?" Her tongue poked out the side of her mouth as she panted happily. "I hope you get better soon." He wrapped his arms around her neck and held tight for a long moment. Emma rested her head on his shoulder and whined at Regina. _Puppy is okay_? her eyes seemed to ask. She nosed him and huffed into his ear, making him squeal and jump to his feet.

"Goodnight," he said again, to both of them, and then disappeared into his room. Emma made to follow but Regina snagged her by the shirt and shook her head.

"No. You're with me." Emma paused, still staring at Henry's door, then obediently followed Regina into the main bathroom.

She made Emma sit inside the bathtub before waving her hand and magicking her into a one-piece swimsuit to cover all her…bits, as Henry said. Emma looked disturbed by the transformation and began to growl, rubbing her side against the wall. She didn't like the feel of the swimsuit. Regina thought now would be an appropriate time to turn on the showerhead. She wasn't prepared for Emma to howl and scramble from the tub, then try to sprint from the room and away from the cold water. Luckily, Regina had magic on her side and she slammed the door and locked it with just a flick of her wrist. Emma whined and scratched at the door, making big, imploring eyes at Regina.

"Get _back_ in the tub, Swan," Regina gritted out. "Now." She pointed but Emma shrunk against the wall and whimpered, refusing to move even when Regina began to bodily shove her into the tub.

When Emma was finally seated, shivering and glaring at Regina and with eyes full of betrayal, Regina ran the water again. She waited until it was warm this time, feeling a mild sense of guilt at spraying the woman with freezing water, before letting it run over Emma. Finally, Emma stopped her shivering.

"See?" Regina said when Emma closed her eyes and let the water run. "That's not so bad." Regina soaked the blonde's hair and tilted her head back, scrubbing it with shampoo. It was certainly different from washing Henry's when he was young but the hair was silky and soft despite its rough treatment this afternoon and it wasn't too unpleasant to clean it.

It was as Regina washed away the suds that she saw them. The shampoo cascaded down Emma's back and her eyes naturally followed the progression. It was then that she noticed the faint lines on Emma's back and shoulders. Not many, no, but enough that she did see them. Scars. Regina blinked and shook her head, yanking her hand back from where it hovered over the skin.

_So what if Emma – _Miss Swan – _had suffered? She was a strong woman and, more importantly, my enemy. Besides, they were most likely accidental._ She sneered at the woman who was patiently sitting in the tub. _She's clumsy and the spawn of those idiots. She is likeable – of course they were accidental_.

She hurriedly squeezed the excess water out of the blonde tangles and stood, stepping away from Emma. This was enough. She'd done her job.

Emma followed her out and, when Regina realised what she was going to do, it was too late to stop her. Emma paused, her muscles freezing as a droplet of water moved down her face. Her nose twitched and then she threw herself into movement, shaking her head and hair and all of her body furiously. Regina just sighed as Emma covered all of her belongings in water and then began to wander, sniffing and rolling and lounging presumptuously on Regina's bed.

"Get. Out," Regina managed to say. Emma whined. "Out!" She returned Emma's clothes to her, magicking them on, and tugged at the blonde's arm until she fell onto the floor and shooed her out of the room.

At the doorway, Emma turned and opened pleading eyes, staring at Regina. Regina slammed the door in her face.

Three hours later, Regina was thoroughly sick of the light scratching on her door and Emma's whimpering and whining. She got the impression that the woman had laid herself flat on the floor and had pressed her nose as close to the door as possible, whimpering through the crack between floor and door.

Regina flung herself out of bed, wrapping her robe around herself, and opened the door. Emma groggily forced herself to her feet and bounced, ecstatic to see Regina. Proof, that was, that something really was wrong with the woman.

"Come on then," she growled. Emma followed her dutifully to the guest room and Regina pointed to the bed in there. "Go to _sleep_." Her eyes were itching from lack of sleep and her voice was a hoarse whisper. "Please."

Emma sniffed around the bed but returned to Regina's side. The darker woman sighed. Then a brilliant plan occurring to her and, amused at the very thought, she waved her hand and watched as the bed transformed itself into something slightly more appropriate for the woman. Emma gaped at the bed when it was fully formed. It was an enormous, king-sized dog bed. The blonde looked to Regina for permission and, at another wave of the hand, Emma jumped onto it.

She turned in a circle three times and flopped down heavily onto the bed, grinning happily over at Regina.

"Good," the woman said, relieved that she would be able to sleep. "Stay."

* * *

Regina awoke amazingly well rested and sat up, stretching. Her feet touched an unfamiliar weight and her eyes snapped open.

Emma growled at the touch and batted at it harmlessly. Her hands and legs twitched a little, no doubt because of something she was dreaming, and her hair was mussed and tangled and hung about her face in messy knots.

Regina shook her head at Emma's blatant disregard of her order 'stay' and rose to get ready for the day. The movement dislodged Emma from her position on the very end of the bed and the woman fell, landing on her back. She whimpered but, seeing that Regina was looking at her, yapped a hello and flipped onto her feet. She ran up, nuzzled the side of Regina's face, and sprinted to the door. She looked at the door, back to Regina, at the door, back to Regina, and at the door again until Regina waved it open. She sprinted out and, from Henry's yelp a few moments later, had gone to wake her son.

Regina just hoped that he could entertain the woman long enough for her to take an uninterrupted shower. And that they wouldn't break too many of her possessions.

**How was that? I hope you liked it. Either way, let me know. Oh and add me on tumblr if you haven't already at elizadownunder. Happy reading, readers :) **


	5. Ruff and Rowdy

**Every Dog Has Its Day: Chapter Five**

**I don't own Once Upon A Time.**

**Please enjoy. For those of you who asked, Emma moves like a human. It is only her mind that is canine. Because of all her muscle memory, she knows that she walks on two legs and all of those things. However, things like going on all fours to sniff at things and eating with her face is the dog part of her taking over. So her actions are dog, her movements are human. Does that help at all? (It helps if you just go with it. It's only meant to be fun.)**

Ruff and Rowdy:

Regina had a headache that refused to go away no matter how many Advil she swallowed. The day had started bad, with Regina leaving her nice warm bed to find that Emma had started pulling on a roll of toilet paper and then hadn't stopped until the roll was empty and she was a grinning mummified idiot, and continued with Emma deciding that Regina's favourite pillow was a chew toy. It had just gotten worse from there.

Emma, once again, dropped her face into her breakfast bowl to wolf down her meal with fascinatingly horrendous gusto and Henry, once again, eyed the behaviour curiously. One look from Regina – narrowed eyes and thin lips – told him he wouldn't get away with doing it. Not today. Not ever.

The blonde woman broke two glasses, trapped herself in the laundry somehow and make the loudest, most pitiable howling sounds that Regina had ever heard – and which grated incessantly on her nerves – got dirt all over the kitchen floor and couch, and tore a few pages out of several different books in Regina's office. And all this before seven am.

At seven thirty exactly, Henry, Regina, and Emma walked to the bus stop. Regina was tempted to conjure a collar and leash and see what the neighbours made of her walking the Saviour. She was _incredibly_ tempted but Henry shook his head as soon as he saw her eyes lighting up like that. He knew that look. That look was 'we should have vegetables for dinner'. That look was 'ooh can I use this to taunt Snow White?'. That look was 'look how I can torture your other mother'. So, permission _not_ given by Henry, Regina refrained from collaring Emma. And, surprisingly, the woman hadn't needed one. She stuck close to Regina's side the whole time, which was annoying but not, the mayor noted, as chasing after the woman might have been.

Also, there was one incident with a butterfly but no one other than Henry and Regina noticed and Emma returned to Regina's side without complaint when the mayor had hissed at her.

For the first time in her life, Regina wished that she could allow Henry to skip school. She would never admit it but she _needed_ him at home to deal with his other mother. Entertain her. Walk her. Whatever she needed. Because without Henry, Regina would have to do it. And she would be left with the woman trotting along, near silent, behind her. Everywhere. All over the house. All. Day. Long. She'd bark at this and sniff at that and grin the whole damn time.

The grinning put Regina's teeth on edge. She wanted to yell at the other woman that she shouldn't be so unabashedly happy, so playful and content. She should be miserable – she was a _dog_ for gods sake. And, god help her, Regina knew that she was so much more. For Emma bloody Swan to be reduced to this was…horrifying.

Regina needed to research. She needed to figure out how to put this right. Although, Regina noted, this hadn't been her fault. Why was she trying to fix it? And why wasn't she happy that the woman was more or less out of Henry's life? As a dog, Emma would be useless as a mother and wasn't that what Regina had always wanted? Pondering this for a moment, Regina decided it was because she'd wanted to do it herself. Curse the blonde woman, scare her away, whatever – she didn't care. But she wanted to have done it. And that meant fixing this, whatever this was, so she had the normal Emma back. And _that_ meant research…which meant that she'd have to find a way to entertain Emma because otherwise she would be horribly distracting.

She considered locking the woman in the bathroom but, with a thought for all the exclusive and expensive products she owned, she reneged that idea. Emma would find a way to destroy everything, she knew. So, with that in mind, Regina made her way into her study and simply closed the door, calling out to Emma not to break anything. Emma would break things – there was no doubt about that – but at least she didn't have to watch it happening and could pretend it wasn't happening.

But the woman appeared only a short moment later outside the study and Regina sighed, studying her expectant face. "Fine," she said, moving aside and allowing Emma into her office. "But don't destroy anything." Emma, obedient for once, only grabbed some pillows from the couch and carried them in her mouth one by one to the centre of the room where she proceeded to drop them and then lay herself lazily over them, rolling until she found a comfortable position. She then craned her neck until she could see Regina and lay there, watching the woman make her way across the room.

Regina trailed her hand along her bookshelf, making her way to _them_. Her mothers books. She paused before touching them, readying herself, because the dormant and malicious magic in them made her hands and the back of her neck prickle in a most unpleasant way. But still, she piled them onto her desk and settled in front of them. It was time, she decided, to figure out how to reverse this. This dog version of Emma had infuriated her in a single morning more than Emma Swan had ever managed to in an entire week. Emma Swan, therefore, was the lesser evil and had to be returned.

Not to mention that their usual inventive back-and-forth was somewhat lacking when it was decidedly one-sided.

The first book to look into was Transformation. Technically, it was used by one person to transform themselves into various shapes so, while not quite applicable, it was worth a shot. Besides, Regina wouldn't put it past Emma to have done this to herself accidentally.

As Regina peered thoughtfully down at stained and aged pages, Emma crept across the study. She could feel the presence of the strange books – they made her skin crawl and her hair itch. But she couldn't leave Regina on her own to deal with the creepy things and so she slowly, very slowly, forced herself to walk closer until she was next to Regina. She curled up on the floor and glared suspiciously at the pile of books. They scared her but so long as her favourite woman was handling them, she could deal with them. The second they hurt her though…Emma growled quietly at the thought. She would rip those pages out, break the bindings, make the words bleed ink.

* * *

Three hours later and Regina was on the fourth book. It was a dusty, malevolent volume full of vile potions. She flipped a page and that was when she felt it. A gentle prodding against her thigh.

Regina panicked and slapped it, whatever it was, away from her. Emma retreated quickly, whining, which is when Regina realised that Emma had been poking her and she'd slapped the woman's hand. The book Regina held fell to the surface of the desk with a loud smack and Emma continued back until she was pressed against the wall.

Regina rolled her eyes and picked up the book. Served the woman right, she thought, I told her not to interfere. And for a whole five minutes, Regina enjoyed the peace and quiet until she realised that Emma hadn't returned to her side. So Regina turned in her chair and the sight that greeted her caused her to gasp.

Emma was crouched in the same place, still against the wall. She was cradling her hand and, when Regina turned in the chair and stood, the blonde woman flinched.

Regina sighed. She walked over to Emma but the woman scampered to the side and away from her. Regina's stomach dropped in a strange way, a way that reminded her of guilt. Perhaps, Regina admitted, because that might have been exactly what it was.

"I apologise," Regina murmured. Emma looked up at her, intense betrayal and hurt in her eyes. "Emma, I'm sorry," she said again but, again, Emma moved away. Regina shook her head and sighed. She moved as close as she could to the blonde with Emma moving away, hitched up her skirt just an inch and knelt carefully. Emma was a dog. She had to be apologised to as such.

Regina slowly reached out and Emma flinched again, much harder. She whined and looked to the door, which was closed. Emma couldn't leave. A tumbling started in Regina's stomach when she recognised that Emma wanted to leave her, and she knew she had to fix it. She didn't want to feel like that.

She held her hand out and kept it there, still. Emma sniffled and curled around her hand. She watched that hand, Regina's, closely. But it didn't move. It didn't slap or hit or claw. And, as she continued to watch and it continued to hand there waiting, Emma began to frown with curiosity and shift closer.

Emma sniffed at the hand offered her and then sat back on her heels. Regina moved slowly and took a hold of Emma's wrist. She pulled the woman's hand to her and inspected it but apart from a slight redness there was no bruising and definitely no broken bones. Despite the lack of injury, Regina rubbed her thumb gently over the redness and sighed.

"I'm sorry," she said again. And then she patted Emma on the head because although she'd never admit it, she really liked the blonde curls. Emma waited a moment longer before leaning her head into Regina's hand, nudging her to continue patting. And later, when Regina reluctantly stood – when her knees clicked, making Regina clench her teeth together because she swore she wasn't old enough for creaking joints – Emma waited only a few seconds before following. Though, she did examine Regina with curious and cautious eyes.

Regina sat in her desk chair and Emma stood beside her. Then she knelt. Then she sat on the floor. Then, when Regina didn't hit her and even touched her hair gently once more, Emma laid herself on the floor and, curling up a little, apparently went to sleep.

She didn't, of course. That is, she didn't go to sleep. That would've been too much to hope for. She was just laying there until the perfect moment to infuriate Regina.

The ex-mayor had found something, perhaps, and her fingers skimmed down the page. Then there was a loud bark, a brief glimpse of a moving, blonde shape, and the sound of Emma scrabbling at the study door. Regina flicked it open. She didn't need a distracting Emma here in the study. Only, the next sound Regina heard was the sound of a body crashing into the glass door of the living room.

Regina put down the book and sighed for what felt like the hundredth time. Standing, she made her way out and over to the whining Emma, who now covered her probably bruised nose. She looked plaintively up at the other woman.

"Let me see," Regina commanded. Only, it wasn't a command if it was said so gently, was it? It was more soothing than a command. It was a request, really. And Regina knew that so she was purposefully not too kind as she cupped Emma's chin and poked and prodded at the woman's face to see if anything was broken. Nothing was. "What on earth possessed you to do something so idiotic, Emma?" Her own words gave her the answer and she rolled her eyes. "Genetics," she muttered. "Can't get rid of them." She sighed and looked back at Emma – who was smiling, eyes scrunched up in joy, because Regina had begun to pat her hair softly, absently. Regina ripped her hand away and stood.

Emma jumped up onto her feet and pressed herself against the glass door, hands splaying across the surface in excitement, and panting. She turned to look at Regina every few seconds and, making eye contact, pressed her nose to the glass whining loudly.

It took Regina a few moments to spot what Emma had. A cat. Sauntering across her lawn. Her lawn, that is, and what might be considered Emma's 'territory' – in her mind, at least. Regina watched as Emma stared at the cat. Her head moved slowly as her eyes followed the path the feline took and she growled louder the closer the cat came to the house.

Emma shoved herself away from the door and approached Regina, whining. She wound around Regina, nudging her shoulder with her head, and then returned to the glass, pressing her cheek to the door and whining to be let out, eyes large and hopeful. The darker woman considered it for a moment and, finding the image too amusing to be denied, opened the door.

Emma's face broke into an almighty grin before she raced out of the house, sprinting at full speed and barking her head off. She chased the now incredibly agitated grey cat around and around and around the yard until it finally managed to dart out of the space underneath a hedge. Then Emma returned, rolling once in the grass, and trotted into the house looking very proud. So incredibly proud of the word she'd done protecting her home, she flopped onto the ground and grinned up at Regina.

Regina couldn't help it. She laughed.

Perhaps Emma – _this_ Emma – wasn't as bad as she thought she would be.

* * *

Regina retracted any generous or kind thought she had ever had about Emma. By dinner time, the headache she'd had in the morning was pounding against her temples and Emma was still following her around like some kind of lost puppy. Regina squeezed her eyes closed and reminded herself that Emma _was_ a lost puppy and that was _exactly_ the problem.

She couldn't handle it anymore. It wasn't even the mess or the way Emma so vigorously threw herself into her dinner or the way that she was literally a step behind her everywhere she went. It was just…everything.

Looking down at her plate, Regina noted that she wasn't even halfway through the meal. But she knew she wouldn't be able to stomach a bite more and so, with a sigh, Regina dapped delicately at the corners of her mouth and pushed her chair back.

"I'm going to bed, Henry," she said quietly. "Please clear the table and look after Emma tonight."

Henry frowned, looking up from his plate. "Are you okay?"

Regina hesitated. She didn't want to acknowledge the pain, didn't want to have Henry think she was weak, but she also very much did not want to be disturbed tonight. "A headache," she admitted. "I'll be better by morning," she reassured him quickly when his face creased further.

"Is it because of Emma?" he asked. "Because I can take her into school tomorrow or something if you're getting headaches."

"No!" Regina said quickly, knowing how horrible of an idea that really was. Emma had to stay here – they didn't need the town descending into panic when they discovered that their sheriff was currently…out of commission and Emma certainly didn't need to be humiliated in front of the entire town. Headache or not, nemesis or not, Regina wouldn't let that happen. "I will be fine, Henry, and you need to pay attention in class."

He shrugged and nodded. "Okay. Can I give her ice cream?" he asked. Regina looked over to where Emma was trying to finished her dinner, sauce once again all over her face, and shook her head no. "Yeah," he agreed. "I shouldn't probably wait until she's, you know, Emma again."

"An excellent decision," his mother said as she disappeared up the stairs. "Do try not to break anything tonight."

* * *

It felt like only a few minutes had past before Regina was woken but, with the thick darkness outside and the only light watery and faint from the streetlamps, she knew it must have been a few hours at least.

She lay still for a few moments, trying to figure out why she was awake. Normally she would sleep through the night unless plagued by nightmares and, with a lack of nightmares, she was confused. Then she heard the barking.

Regina gritted her teeth and, throwing back the covers and slipping her feet into fuzzy slippers, she marched her way into the guest room intent on giving Emma a piece of her mind. Only, the woman wasn't there. Regina stepped out into the hall and cocked her head to the side to listen.

There. The barking started up again. Regina frowned and moved swiftly down the stairs, following the sounds out into the yard. The door was slightly ajar – worrying, given that she knew Emma couldn't open doors in her state – and she could just make out the blonde hair and slender frame of her house guest. The other was larger and she only realised who it was when she conjured a ball of fire and his face was illuminated.

"Mister Cassidy," she snarled. "What is the meaning of this?"

This, being a rather interesting situation. Emma had the man pinned to the ground and was perched atop of the man, her face dizzyingly close to his. If it weren't for the fact that it was so obviously hostile, teeth bared, growling, Regina might have turned away and allowed them some privacy.

Emma tilted her head to look at Regina when she heard the woman's voice.

"Oh hey Regina." Neal managed a goofy grin and a little wave. Emma's growls became louder and her nails dug into his skin.

"It's Madame Mills to you," she said shortly. "Now if you would please answer the _incredibly_ simple question I asked you. What are you doing at my home?" She slowed the words down, hoping it would make it easier for him to understand.

"Look I'm sorry about this," he said kindly, "I just came to check on Emma. Couldn't believe it when I heard she was here."

"You thought I was forcibly keeping her here?" Regina laughed meanly. "You are aware that I loathe the woman, are you not?"

Neal looked up at the woman on top of him and over at the woman he disliked. "Yeah. I know." There was an odd selection of emotions embroiled within his tone that gave Regina pause. Guilt, for one, disbelief, sadness, and a minor note of anger. It was confusing but she knew that Neal was an idiot and so she disregarded the whole affair.

"Leave," she commanded. "Now."

Neal jerked his chin up at Emma, who snarled. "What about her?"

"Emma. Come here."

Emma picked herself up off the man and trotted to Regina's side. She pressed against Regina, shoulder to shoulder, and growled low and continuously until the man had disappeared, allowing the pair a few curious and sad backward looks.

"Well," Regina said. "That was odd." Emma yipped and then leant down to nose Regina's shoulder. "Inside," the mayor said, barely even noticing the odd and affectionate actions of the woman. "It's cold out here."

**Okay everyone I hope you enjoyed that. Let me know – review, PM, tumblr at elizadownunder, whatever you like. I'm having so much fun writing this and I love knowing what you think. Happy reading, readers :)**


	6. Chasing Her Tail

**Every Dog Has Its Day: Chapter Six**

**I don't own Once Upon A Time.**

**Please enjoy.**

Chasing Her Tail:

Henry tapped his spoon slowly against the side of the bowl. He was hunched over it, leaning on his right elbow as he turned slightly to watch Emma. "Mom?" he said quietly, drawing Regina's attention in the form of a raised eyebrow over a wall of newspaper. "Should we take her for a walk?" Henry's face scrunched thoughtfully. "She seems…_really_ energetic."

"That's what happens when a grown woman is locked in a house for three days, Henry. They get bored." Regina lowered her newspaper just enough to look down at the blonde woman, who was lying on the kitchen floor and gnawing on the neighbours newspaper. A newspaper Regina had definitely _not_ given to Emma after feeling particularly spiteful towards said neighbour due to their habit of letting their dog do its business on Regina's normally impeccable front lawn. "And it's only worse when that woman is Miss Swan_ and_ she is a dog."

Henry shrugged. "I guess. So, do you want to?"

"Want to what, dear?" Regina asked quietly. She didn't particularly wish to break the spell over the morning, it being the most pleasant morning she had had in a very long time. Henry was sitting with her and talking to her and it was lovely. Emma wasn't even barking. She was, however, energetic as Henry had said. Her gnawing was persistent, her wriggling and pouncing on the newspaper exciting for her at least, and her panting constant.

"Go for a walk," he said. "With me and Emma." He shrugged again and Regina fought from telling him off about the sloppy habit, something he had no doubt picked up from his other mother. "It'll be fun," he enticed.

Regina hesitated. She did want to spend time with her son – she always did – and even didn't mind the thought of spending time with the terror (Emma)…but she also knew that Gold would be using this time to squeeze everything he could get out of the Charmings, playing off their hope that he could heal Emma. Really, he couldn't do a damn thing. Regina knew the damage hadn't been caused by a spell and the next most likely scenario was that someone had slipped her a potion. And _Regina_ owned the only books in Storybrooke that could help.

"I'm sorry," she had to tell him. "But I really must continue my research."

"But look!" he pointed to Emma, who came over to him and beamed happily at Regina. "She's fine, see? Another day won't hurt her."

"Henry," Regina said slowly, and mildly scoldingly. "Emma doesn't want to be a dog. I have to find a way to revert her to her original state." His face fell and he nodded, realising the truth in that. "Now, take her for a walk, don't let her eat anything while she's out there, and then finish getting ready for school. Okay?"

"Yes mom," he grumbled, jumping down from his seat. "Come on, Emma." His blonde mother dutifully trotted after him, with one glance back at Regina, and ran off into the garden.

Regina cleared the breakfast table and completed all those motherly tasks – wiping and cleaning and disapproving of the state of Henry's bedroom – before returning to her office and continuing her reading. Within moments, she was completely absorbed in it. If she had not, perhaps she might have heard Henry explaining a few things. One, that Emma had been suspiciously hungry and thirsty when he'd come back from school yesterday and she should probably eat a bit more and two, that he had set several loud reminders on her phone that Emma needed to be fed and watered – oh and probably taken to the bathroom, he added – and so she shouldn't be surprised when that happened.

_If_ she had heard his explanation, she wouldn't have been surprised. Not having heard it, she set fire to the couch where her phone was resting when she was so rudely interrupted by the incredibly loud blasting of 'Hound Dog' from its speakers. A second fireball span from her fingers and she stood, extinguishing it when she realised the source of the noise.

Emma's head came up from the cushion it was resting on and she frowned at the fire and then at Regina. With a flick of her wrist, Regina made the flames disappear and fixed the scorch marks on the fabric. She frowned back at Emma.

"That was your fault," she told the woman. The answering look she received, so strikingly similar to the look she would have gotten out of Sheriff Swan, denied the accusation and was mildly judgemental. "What? It might have been." She scooped up the phone, curious as to why her phone was blaring that awful song.

_Don't forget to feed Emma_, the message flashed on her screen in sync with the song. Regina smiled fondly at the device, recognising Henry's meddling. She cancelled the alarm and turned to settle in her desk chair once more…only to be interrupted when the phone went off again. Hound Dog, _again_. _MOM. EMMA NEEDS WATER + FOOD_. _NOW._

Regina rolled her eyes but stood from her chair and beckoned to Emma, who scrambled to her feet and followed her out into the hall, into the kitchen. Only, when Regina checked the pantry and the fridge, she was confronted by a stunning lack of food. _Of course_, she remembered. Shopping for groceries had been the furthest thing from her thoughts in the last few days.

"I suppose we had best order in," she murmured. Emma didn't understand a word of it but she did press herself against Regina and whine, resting her chin on Regina's shoulder. The darker woman shrugged Emma off, ignoring the subsequent pout, and picked up her phone. "Granny's?" she asked. Emma woofed and plopped down to the ground, waiting silently. She played with Regina's shoes, only taking her fingers away when Regina glared down at her, shook her head, and stepped lightly but not at all painfully on the blonde woman's fingers in a silent reprimand.

Before Regina could place an order or even call, she received a text from Henry. _Have you fed Emma yet?_ and she scowled down at her screen, quickly sending one back.

_Pay attention in class._ The little beep indicating the 'send' made Emma stare at the phone suspiciously. It beeped again – incoming message – and Emma barked in response, looking from Regina's face to the phone.

_Have you fed Emma yet?_ Regina sighed and, not wanting to distract Henry from class but knowing that if she didn't respond in the affirmative he would more than likely continue texting her or even skip class completely to make sure.

_Yes_, she sent, succumbing. _I'm feeding the dog now. _

Henry's reply was almost instantaneous. _Good. I promise I'll pay attention now. Love you mom._

Regina blinked back sudden tears and shook her head. It had been so long since he'd meant those words and now he was staying with her and saying it and even _texting_ it to her. She felt silly but she let her thumb stroke the screen, the words, lightly. The moment was perfect – and then Emma pushed her nose against Regina's cheek and whined right in her ear.

Regina sighed and pushed her away. The new Emma and her _constant_ physical proximity was so odd. The old Emma didn't touch, didn't like to be touched, and had always used contact as a way to intimidate. Fights, for instance, or just not backing down from an altercation, stern face and stiff shouldered and crossed arms. Now, apparently, she like to snuggle and nuzzle and lean against her and it was annoying. The smell of Emma was hanging around her in a cloud, slipping into Regina's system, and her touch was like an electric shock every time – because of surprise, of course.

Regina called Granny's and the ever enthusiastic Ruby offered to deliver the food, free of charge. Regina was inclined to suspect such kind behaviour but she accepted it because she could hardly leave Emma alone in her house with so many things to break and she couldn't take her to Granny's and let the town see the sheriff in such a condition. So, accepting Ruby's offer stiffly, Regina hung up and dithered for a few moments.

She looked toward her office, the door slightly open, but decided against returning to work. A lunch break would be nice. But what to do? She quickly spruced up the kitchen and then, that finished, moved into the living room. The moment Regina sat down, Emma leapt up onto the couch and curled up next to her. Regina sat stiffly but Emma's warmth and her incessant shifting had the combined effect that meant Regina relaxed into the couch and also placed a hand on Emma's shoulder to make _her_ relax, the fidgeting putting Regina on edge. She considered switching on the television and letting herself be taken away by brainless soaps but Emma stopped her from moving by slumping lazily into her place, arms and legs akimbo and refusing to move.

Resigning herself to boredom until lunch arrived, Regina closed her eyes and made herself comfortable. It worked for a few minutes until a peculiar noise made her frown with annoyance. Little snaps and growls from Emma forced her to open her eyes and then, surprised, she watched with increasing amusement as the blonde lazily attacked the dust nuisances that tickled and danced over her nose. It gave Regina a new game to play in a fit of inspiration – namely, conjuring little puffs of purple smoke to distract and entertain the other woman.

Ten minutes into the game, the smoke bunnies transformed by then into literal smoke figures of bunnies, the doorbell rang. Emma flipped off the couch. She scrambled to her feet and raced to the door, excited by the novel sound. Regina, on the other hand, stood and moved calmly to the door. Her heels clicked on the hardwood, a sound that made Emma increasingly agitated as she had to wait, wait, wait to see what was behind the door. She bounced on the balls of her feet and began pacing in front of the door and whined low and plaintively. Regina, seeing that, smirked to herself and purposefully delayed opening it. She turned to glance into the mirror and her smirk faded.

She looked horrendous – hair mussed, a wrinkle in her shirt, and…she squinted at her reflection, frowning. Was that a _blonde hair_ on her blouse? She plucked it off and fixed herself quickly, glaring at Emma for shedding and internally planning to keep the woman outside from now on.

Emma glared back at her and looked from her to the door to her to the door to her to the door – Regina found herself getting dizzy from the woman's actions and opened the front door.

"Regina! Hey!"

"Miss Lucas," Regina greeted the young woman calmly. The waitress, in true form, popped her hip out to rest her hand on it in a mildly suggestive manner that Regina suspected was muscle memory by now and not intentional. The young woman grinned at Regina.

"How's it going?"

Regina was about to reply, tossing up between a disapproving 'I am fine, though you must be cold and I know that you are capable of affording the entirety of clothing, not only the three inches you choose to attire yourself in' and a curt 'well, and thank you for bringing lunch, goodbye' when Emma began to growl and placed herself in front of Regina.

"My god woman, is there _anyone _that you like?" she asked, exasperated. Why was it that Emma only tolerated herself and Henry? She would love to be able to foist the woman off on one of her friends.

Emma ignored Regina and stepped closer to Ruby, eyes narrowed firmly in an evaluating gaze. She sniffed at the air and whined faintly, wavering in her place as if trying to decide whether to attack or run.

"What is going on here?" Regina wanted to know.

Ruby winced. "She can sense the wolf in me, I guess." Emma growled and then whimpered. "I think she can sense the alpha as well."

"Alpha?" Regina leant against her doorframe, fascinated and amused by the conflicted faces Emma was pulling. "Wouldn't that mean that she is below you then?" She looked at the decidedly _not_ submissive Emma – now baring her teeth and growling – and raised a questioning brow at Ruby.

"Nah. I think…I think she's decided that she's alpha too?" She didn't seem certain but watched Emma cautiously. "Which makes us either mortal enemies or best friends. And I would _really_ prefer the second – Emma is totally badass in a fight." Regina filed that information away for later but then focused because Ruby was making a placating gesture and Emma was calming down. She took a trembling step toward the red-streaked waitress and then sniffed all around her, circling her twice, and then woofed lightly before trotting back to Regina and looking incredibly happy and proud of herself. "And I think that was the a-okay! We are good to go," Ruby said, beaming.

"Excellent. _Now_ may we eat?" she testily asked Emma, who took the attention as a good sign and rubbed her head against Regina's shoulder. The darker woman just sighed and patted her once on the head before shoving her away lightly. The action – or rather, lack of fireball action – drew a curious look from Ruby. "Miss Lucas, may I ask you a question?"

"Huh?" Ruby shook herself out of her mind, where she was considering the possibility of a Regina who didn't hate Emma, and nodded. "Oh yeah, sure."

"Why is it that you are unsurprised by Emma's…doggish behaviour?"

"Oh. Snow told me." Ruby shook her head. "I think David ought to have kept her locked up until this was over. She's told me and Granny and Gold and -"

"Neal Cassidy."

"Neal knows?" Ruby shrugged, mostly noting the cold tone Regina used. "Sure, probably. Anyway's she told pretty much everyone. She can't keep a secret." Ruby winced slightly. "But I don't have to tell you that."

"No. You do not." Regina's face clouded over for just a moment before she forced a thin smile. "Our lunch then, Miss Lucas?"

"Oh right. Yeah. Here." Ruby handed over the bag and they stood for a moment awkwardly staring at one another, Emma just grinned at them both and being far more interested in the bag Regina held.

"Goodbye," Regina said abruptly and Ruby nodded quickly, the word breaking the awkward and allowing her to turn and practically run down the path and out the gate. Regina closed her door and rolled her eyes – _socialising_, she thought scornfully.

Emma woofed her own goodbye through the door and then turned on Regina, snuffling at the takeaway bag. "Get away from it," Regina commanded. Emma looked up at her with wide eyes and stepped closer, practically shoving her nose into the bag. "No, Emma." The blonde huffed a sigh and backed away, simply following Regina into the kitchen. Regina allowed herself to be pleasantly surprised at her manners – it was nice of the sheriff to actually follow her orders for once – and commanded the woman to sit while she prepared lunch. Emma sat on the floor and grinned broadly at the woman who, with food in her hands and smelling deliciously of cheeseburger, she couldn't help but adore.

Lunch came and went and Emma had quaffed her burger with surprising speed. Regina frowned at the woman. "Do _not _come running to me when you get a stomach ache, Miss Swan," she said sternly. Emma spared her an amused glance, her tongue lolling out for a moment as her doggy-self laughed at the idea that she would get a stomach ache.

* * *

Emma curled up at Regina's feet and whined sadly, her knees brought up to her stomach in an attempt to relieve the ache. Regina pursed her lips in an attempt not to smile.

"I told you," she said. The other woman didn't notice and just whined again. Luckily, she was doing so softly and Regina was able to tune the blonde out. She flicked through her mothers book but, when Emma leant heavily against her legs, she just looked down and pursed her lips again, not bothering to push her away.

Finally, Emma felt well enough to stand and when she did and shook herself out, loosening her limbs, she suddenly stopped. Her knees locked and she looked down at her self and then up at Regina with no small measure of shock.

Regina frowned and lowered her book. "What is it?" she asked.

Emma turned in a full circle, stopped, frowned, and then turned again. She looked up at Regina, eyes wide with panic, and craned her neck to look at her behind, turning and turning and turning and turning and stopped. Then turned. Then stopped. She whined at Regina, who was trying to smother a laugh.

"Are you…do you honestly wish to chase your tail?" she sniggered. Emma whined again. "Oh my god. I need to film this for Henry." She conjured her camera, pressed record, and in the next moment waved her hand and conjured for Emma a long-haired, golden tail to match her hair. The woman's eyes lit up and Regina watched – and filmed – as Emma spun with a delighted smile, eyes sparkling bright, chasing her tail with gusto. She span until she staggered and had to sit heavily on the floor, tail wagging outrageously quickly with happiness.

Emma rolled, growling and snapping playfully at her tail until she finally lay, exhausted, face down on the carpet. Regina hesitated to move at all or make any sound in fear that Emma would be brought out of her apparent slumber. But she needn't have worried because soon enough Emma realised she wasn't comfortable, crawled forward to take Regina's pants hem between her teeth, and pulled.

"Miss Swan!" Regina exclaimed, outraged. "This suit is very expensive!" After a moment, she added, "and that is very inappropriate, of course. Inappropriate." Which, she realised, should have been the first thing she said.

Emma rolled her eyes and tugged again.

"Fine," Regina huffed. "What is it?" She stood and let Emma tug her over to the couch, where she sighed but sat obediently when Emma looked to the couch to her to the couch again. Not wanting this relocation to affect her research at all, Regina waved her hand and her books floated over to stack themselves neatly in a pile next to her. Emma glared at them and snapped fiercely at the purple cloud that always appeared when Regina used magic. But, forgetting that quickly, Emma jumped up onto the couch beside Regina and curled up, dropping her head heavily into the other woman's lap.

"Miss Swan!" Emma cocked her head a little, as if she really did have dog ears. But then she ignored Regina, furrowing her brow and wriggling a little, hands kneading Regina's thigh to make herself more comfortable. "You're a little too big and _too heavy_ to be a lapdog," Regina said through gritted teeth. She grabbed a pillow and shoved it under Emma's head, bringing an enormous beaming smile to the blonde's face. "Hmph," she sighed. Why had she done that? was the thought running through her head. Surely she should have just…_shoved_ Emma away, off her lap certainly. But the woman was already comfortable – she had shown an ability to be comfortable mostly everywhere while in her doggish mindset – and Regina somehow didn't have the heart to move her.

She looked down at Emma and blinked. She watched as her own fingers, yes, definitely hers, stroked Emma's hair, tangling in the curls and slowly, gently, smoothing out knots. Regina couldn't recall starting, couldn't recall the feeling of immersing her hand in the beautifully soft curls, but now that she saw what she was doing it was all she could feel: the strands clung slightly and tangled around her fingers, riotously bunching and gathering and needing just a little direction to sort themselves into sweet curls, and the warmth that emanated from Emma's skin.

"You know," she murmured. "You aren't so bad like this. When you aren't talking or being annoying or usurping my place as Henry's mother, I mean," she said, trying to insert some of her normal snark and ill-will into the sentiment. But the hands stroking through Emma's hair betrayed her as gentle, as well as the little scratch she gave the woman above her ear which caused a little pleased growl, and Regina sighed. "But I hope we can turn you back soon. I know this must be…horrid."

Regina hoped, not for the first time, that Emma wasn't simply trapped within her own mind. She hoped that she couldn't see what was going on all around her and be screaming to get out, to interact with the world in her normal manner. Everyone had demons – Emma was no different, Regina suspected – and to be trapped…She just hoped that wherever she was, Emma was blind deaf and dumb to her own behaviour.

And also to Regina's because god knows the woman would never let her live this down. Regina could almost hear her now crowing "you played with my hair you _like_ me we're friends now." Regina scoffed silently. Childish.

* * *

Henry called that afternoon.

"Hey mom," he said casually, probably not realising that his easy acceptance of her once again sent a lovely shock through her heart and reminded her that yes, her heart did work. "Am I catching the bus or do you want to pick me up?"

Regina glanced over at Emma who was rolling around, incredibly bored, on the floor. "Your other mother is very energetic. Why don't we walk and meet you at the school?"

"Cool. Sounds good." Ever a teen, Henry immediately hung up before Regina could confirm a meeting place. She rolled her eyes but snapped her fingers at Emma, who immediately flipped onto her feet and raced over to her. She bounced around and Regina sighed. God save her from this monstrosity of a sheriff. She had to be _the_ least intimidating person Regina had ever come across.

"We are going to pick up Henry," she said. Emma sprinted to the door and shifted from foot to foot, eagerly waiting for Regina to let her out. The door opened and Emma sprinted down the pathway, rolled on the lawn, and then returned calmly to Regina's side a moment later as she walked down the street. Regina surreptitiously removed a blade of grass from Emma's hair and a leaf from her shirt, clicking her tongue in reprimand. Emma just grinned.

"Good afternoon, Regina," a soft voice greeted. Regina raised her brows at Archie, who nodded kindly, and then attempted a smile in return.

"Good afternoon, Dr Hopper."

"Going to pick up Henry, are you?" he asked.

"Indeed."

"And Emma?" His eyes switched over to the blonde woman and his forehead creased in concern. "I heard what happened-"

"Of course you did," she murmured, "Bloody Snow."

"And I wanted to offer my services. If ever you need to talk or, when you solve Emma's dilemma, if she wishes to talk please don't hesitate." Regina thought for a moment before inclining her head in a small nod.

"Of course. Thank you for the suggestion."

"Please pass it along to Emma when she is recovered."

"I will, thank you." Uncomfortable now, she ushered Emma to pick up her speed. The woman stubbornly ignored her and continued ambling at her own pace. She eyed Pongo suspiciously but he didn't react to her presence at all. He clearly understood that she was no dog. It was only when Emma spotted a cat in the very far distance that Regina was pulled along quickly by a rambunctious and growling Emma. She cast a quick silencing spell, which made Emma frown at her, and grabbed her jacket to slow her down and pull her into the right street to head to the school. Cat out of sight, Emma calmed down immediately.

The trouble _really_ began when they reached Henry's school. They spotted him easily enough, him sitting on a bench just outside the main building. What they also saw was that there were three boys standing around him – big, tall, and not looking very friendly. Before Regina could do a thing, Emma was sprinting in their direction.

"Emma," Henry started.

"Need your mummy, do you?" one of them sneered.

Henry ducked away from them to stand in front of Emma. "It's fine," he murmured. "It's okay. Come on, let's just go." He was scared, very scared, that once they saw that she wasn't normal nothing would be the same. A dog as a sheriff? That wasn't something that she would be able to live down. Not to mention that those 'your mom is a bitch' taunts would be twice as common.

Unfortunately, Henry's intention of taking Emma away from the action was foiled. One of the boys looked Emma up and down, somehow managing not to see the dangerous glint in her eyes, and shoved Henry down to the ground. What happened next was…quick.

Emma moved swiftly to stand in front of the boy who dared to touch her son. He was bulky and tall but not quite as tall as Emma and, when she loomed over him, his face fell. She grabbed with both hands at his collar and, showing her strength, she pulled him clean off his feet and brought him up so they were at eye level. He tried to pry her away, his hands scrabbling her hers, but then her eyes flashed a deep gold and he froze, entranced and terrified. He whimpered.

Emma bared her teeth and then, in perfect and articulate English, spoke. "You touched my son. You dared touch _my_ son." She growled, slightly doggish but mostly just fierce. "If you _hurt_ my son I will make your life miserable. I know where you live, I know your parents, and I swear to god that if you touch Henry again your children and your _children's_ children will be crying when I'm done with you. Do you understand?"

"Ye…yes ma'am," the boy stuttered.

"Emma," Regina called quietly.

The blonde cocked her head to the side, Regina's voice registering in her mind. She looked the boy up and down and lowered him slowly, her eyes never leaving his in a nerve-wracking and silent threat. His feet touched the ground and he was gone, sprinting away with his friends. Emma, on the other hand, turned and walked slowly back to Henry and Regina. They watched as the tall, confident sheriff slowly faded, replaced by the ever jubilant but somehow distant dog woman they'd come to know over the last few days.

Henry's face fell. "I thought she'd come back," he said to his mother. Regina laid a hand on his neck and tugged him into her side.

"I know, dear. As did I." Emma didn't seem to register their shared sadness, instead brushing her head affectionately against her puppy's – Henry's – head and trotting off ahead of them in that strange way of hers, an almost loping stride.

"Maybe, like, the spell is wearing off or something. We can try and fix her when we get home." Regina said nothing, not wanting to crush Henry's hopes, but she had the faintest idea that this was not something one could fix. Other than Emma, of course. And she desperately wanted to know how it was that the woman had overcome the effect of whatever had done this to her. A spell, she mused as they walked, would leave the caster exhausted. Emma is clearly strong – stronger even than herself, perhaps – and to keep the woman in such a state would be near impossible. Therefore, it had to be a potion, most likely with magic dampening capabilities. Devil's Snare, most likely. A rather horrid plant in Regina's opinion. Shot up everywhere like bamboo if it wasn't actively kept away.

"Come on, mom," Henry called from the front steps. She had drifted behind a good ten or so paces and she hurried to catch up, following her son into the house.

"I was thinking we could put some candles out in like, I don't know, a pentagon or a love heart shape or something like that to really boost her inner magic," Henry enthused. "And you can put together some herbs or something and we can try to reach her now that we know Emma's _really_ in there."

"Henry,"

"And if we put together all her favourite things she'll definitely want to get them then. I'll grab her jacket and some bear claws and you can make pictures of Grams and Gramps like little holographs can't you?"

"Yes but Henry,"

"Great! Let's do it!"

"Henry!" Regina snapped, trying to get his attention. "I really don't think this will work."

Henry's face fell a little and then completely into a frown. "You haven't even _tried_." He shook his head. "Come on, mom. Just try."

"Henry, I'm not saying this to be cruel but it will not work."

She forgot, somehow, how quickly a child's manner could change. She was reminded.

Henry backed away a few paces from her and shook his head hard, ducking his chin to his chest when he felt the annoying and stubborn sting of tears. "You didn't even _try_. Do you even want to do it? Do you _want_ to help or do you still hate her?" he asked and, of course, Regina didn't have an answer for that. Not for him and not even for herself. It would be no, she surmised. She didn't hate the woman. But if it were a potion there was exactly no point in doing this séance type conjuring trick that Henry wished to do—and it would be more than likely that the idiot woman would burn herself on the candles.

"Henry," she tried again, softer, slightly chiding because no of course she didn't hate the woman anymore. "That's not fair. You have to know that I'm trying – but this will not _work_," she insisted.

"I hate you," he said sadly and unconvinced of his own words. "I hate you and I bet that _you_ did this to Emma." Regina recoiled slightly, eyes widened, mouth dropped in silence and shock. "I hate you," he said quietly and, with a dash of his wrist against a tear-studded cheek, he pulled away and left the room, thumping up the stairs and into his bedroom.

Emma, the unwitting instigator of the drama, sat quietly on the floor next to where Henry had been standing. Regina looked down at her when the blonde woofed mournfully.

"Oh leave me alone," Regina snapped but the words lacked any bite. She followed Henry up the stairs, followed by the endlessly happy Emma, and paused outside his bedroom. Her hand hovered over the handle but, remembering his grief, decided to give him some time. Instead, she retreated to her own bedroom where, alone, she succumbed to the pain that had rocketed through her with those three simple words. _I hate you_.

It had been quite some time since she had heard them and she couldn't lie. It pain was indescribable. All she could do was lie down on her bed and then, when that didn't help, curl with her knees as close to her chest as she could pull them. She almost managed a snort, realising how much she resembled that stupid woman suffering from a stomach ache.

Something nudged Regina's hand. The dark woman's eyes dashed open, only to be greeted by green eyes and blonde curls. Emma's curious face looked up at her from her place next to the bed. She was sitting, Regina looked, cross-legged next to the bed and occasionally she would reach up and nudge Regina's hand. Having captured Regina's attention, she would then pout mournfully and force an almost silent whine from the back of her throat.

"Go away," Regina said, lacking conviction.

Emma took the words as encouragement and inched closer until it was her chin resting on the bed next to Regina's face.

"I said go away." Regina's face crumpled. "He said he hated me." Her shoulders shook with the force of the tears and her knees came up further, arms curled protectively around them, around herself. "He hates me, Emma," she said again, peering over at the silly little dog woman.

Emma's eyes flashed gold and then a voice murmured, "Hey, no please don't cry. He didn't mean it. He does love you, Regina. I promise."

Regina just sobbed again, a great gasping tearful sob, a way she had only ever cried for Henry, because here was her enemy soothing her – not only her enemy but an enemy that is usually not even capable of human speech. And somehow, this woman is forcing herself to transcend the force of some incredible spell to comfort _her_.

"Regina, Regina," Emma soothed. The blonde brushed little tears from Regina's cheek. "Please, don't cry. He's just upset. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She continued the little words, hardly even registering what they were or what she meant, and clambered onto the bed when Regina didn't really react. She lay cautiously beside Regina and began to rub big circle on her back, patting her shoulder occasionally. "Hey, it's okay. I'm here. I'm here for you, it'll be okay."

After some time, the murmurings faded away and all that remained of the soothing touches was a weight against her back. Regina's sobs had faded away and she turned over in the bed, realising that Emma had reverted again. It would have to do though. Emma was warm and still strangely affectionate. Her eyes were kind and the woman didn't pull away when Regina tentatively began to play with her hair or, when she succumbed to her tears again, buried her face in Emma's shoulder. She did fidget as a dog might when they felt they'd been hugged for too long but, as they were wont to do, she relaxed into the hug and allowed her human the contact she needed.

* * *

In the morning Henry, repentant and a little snotty from his own sad, teary, and somewhat sleepless night, suck into his mothers room. He was surprised to see Emma in the bed – awake and grinning at him in that wide canine too many teeth way she had lately – but he shrugged and crawled up the bed to plop between his mothers.

Regina was awake instantly and she very cautiously touched his forehead, sweeping his hair to the side. "Are you alright, dear?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," he mumbled in return. Then, abruptly, he turned towards her and snuggled into her side, mumbling a quiet, "I'm sorry, mom," into her shoulder.

Regina's eyes closed with the weight of the words – this weight always, always welcome – and she smiled into his hair, pressing a kiss there. "It's fine, dear. I'm sorry too."

"What for?" he said, words muffled by her shirt.

"I should have said _why_ I felt your…idea wouldn't work and I didn't." When he was silent, she continued. "I think it's a potion. In that instance, think of it as a drug. She isn't capable of coming back just because we want her to. It will wear off on it's own or with a little help, if I can find the formula for the reversal."

"So the séance thingy wouldn't have worked anyway?"

"No, dear."

"Sorry for yelling," he said again. "And saying…that." Regina nodded. "I do love you," he said in a semi-grumble, in that teenage way that meant that he was almost too old to be saying such things but knew that she needed to hear it.

"And I love you."

"Love you too guys," came a fond murmur from Henry's other side. The inhabitants of the bed looked over to a teary Emma, who shoved Regina lightly and said "Told you not to worry, silly. Told you he loved you."

"You did," Regina said breathlessly, hoping that this was the time that Emma would stay human. _Please_ stay human, she begged.

"And you, kid. A good idea, I think?" She shrugged. "But listen to your mom next time, 'kay?" Henry nodded quickly. "Okay." Her eyes started to blur and she frowned deeply. "Oh," she murmured. "Okay. Bye." And then she was gone again, panting slightly, tongue lolling, rolling out of the bed to shake her body wildly to wake it up and trotting to the door, waiting to be let out.

Henry and Regina shared a disappointed glance but stood to join her. It was another day and they had work to do. But first…

Henry snuck a look down at his blonde mothers feet. "Hey mom," he said casually to Regina. She hummed an acknowledgement. "You know that Emma wore her shoes in your bed, right?"

The resulting explosion, mild pyrotechnics, and the faces that Emma made – caught on camera by Henry – almost made up for the disappointment.

**Sorry that the updates are taking so long guys. I'm working on Coffee To Go as well and **_**boy**_** that takes up a lot of time. Not to mention all the other stuff I've got going on. Anyway, enough complaining. I hope you enjoyed it and please leave a review, I love to hear from you. Happy reading, readers :)**


	7. In Her Paws

**Every Dog Has Its Day: Chapter Seven.**

**I don't own Once Upon A Time.**

**Please enjoy.**

In Her Paws:

Regina sighed. She was lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling. It was unusual for her to be so, well…she hesitated to think it but _lazy_. Emma didn't mind. She was curled up at the end of the bed per usual and she looked quite content lolling around and playing with the pillow Henry and Regina had designated firmly as 'Emma's'. It was a little torn up from a fight Emma had started with it but she seemed to like it.

She sighed again. This time it was thoughtful, a mere hum of air escaping her as she tried to work through her racing thoughts.

Fact one: it had been almost a week of Emma as a dog.

Fact two: Since that day they had collected Henry from school, and the following morning, Emma hadn't reverted. She'd been amiable and energetic and hungry but she had not been human in the slightest.

Fact three: Regina had found many potions using Devil's Snare as a base – each one more disgusting or horrific than the last – but she had not found one that would have done this.

Fact four: This meant, to Regina's growing dismay, that someone had made this potion by themselves. An _amateur._

With these facts in mind, Regina sighed for a third – and final, she commanded herself – time. She had no choice. She had to go to Gold, the imp. Her lip curled in a sneer. There was no way out of this, Regina knew, and Gold was her best bet. The amateur had certainly not made the potion in her home, which left only two places. First, the fairies. But they didn't have the dark ingredients that would no doubt have been necessary to make the potion. And that left Gold.

Regina neatly swung her legs out of bed, prompting Emma to scurry off as well and affectionately brush against her shoulder. She shut the dog-woman out of her room and readied herself. A meeting with Gold meant that Regina needed two things. The first, very important, was the ability to show no weakness. The second, equally important, was a keen sense of fashion.

Saturday meant that Henry was home to look after his mother, thank god, so when Regina descended the stairs in a sharp suit that made her look dangerous and dangerously enticing in the same moment, she only had to rattle off a few instructions. Henry nodded and waved her out of the house. She didn't have to know that he'd already planned out his day with his Emma and it didn't involve a schedule. It mostly revolved around racing in the corridors, playing x-box games, and eating whatever he could reach in the fridge and then blaming it on Emma if his mom got angry, knowing that she couldn't get angry at Emma while she didn't have human brain function.

Regina knew this but she was willing to overlook her son's mischief, needing him to babysit. She couldn't be worried about Emma, or Henry, while she was trying to interrogate the dastardly man.

For a few moments, Regina considered simply poofing her way into Gold's store. She thought better of it, preferring rather to slam the door open and march her way in. The aggression of the gesture would make her point clearly enough. This was a bitch not to be messed with.

So, driving instead of teleporting, she pulled up outside of Gold's shop. The sign said closed but really, it always did. She slammed the door open and enjoyed the way the windows rattled in their frames. She marched into the centre of the room and, using a spell to enhance the volume of her voice just slightly, called out to him.

"Come out, little imp."

There was a shuffling in the corner and Regina's hand flung out, holding the person where he was. Obviously not Gold. He was too powerful to be caught. She brought him out of the shadows and glowered. Henry's sperm donor.

"Mr Cassidy," she greeted him coolly.

"Regina," he answered. "Mind letting me go?"

"Of course," she said so very, very politely. She let him go and smiled when he winced, his ankles protesting the heavy and sudden landing. "Where is your father?"

"He's taking inventory," the man said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "Want me to get him?"

"No need, dear. I'm sure he knows I'm here."

"Regina." The oily voice she had been waiting for caressed her name. It had never failed to make her shudder. Only now, of course, she was able to hide the movement. When she was younger, she hadn't known that she'd needed to hide anything from him, her teacher. Not to mention that then it had been a shiver of pride that he would deign to teach her. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Gold." Regina drew herself up into her most regal pose. "I assume you are aware of the…situation?"

"What situation would that be, dearie?" he asked, moving with considerable speed and grace despite his crippled leg.

"With the sheriff."

"Do you perhaps mean her penchant for chasing squirrels rather than criminals nowadays, dearie?"

A few rather delightful curses sat heavy on her tongue but she managed to swallow them. "Yes," she said through gritted teeth. "That would be the one."

"Now dearie," Gold said, leaning across the bench with his too-wide crocodile smile prettily in place. "Why would you want to talk to me about that?"

Regina glanced across to Neal, who hovered in the doorway between store and backroom. "Perhaps because I've no interest in being accused of treason against the _delightful _Charmings any longer. Or perhaps because their idiot daughter has been bothering me for far too long now as a mutt. I want her fixed and out of my house. Now."

Gold searched her eyes for a long moment but Regina knew this game. She projected, in a calm queenly fashion, nothing but irritation and a strong will that was currently being used to restrain herself from a murderous rampage. Gold nodded.

"Bae," he said. "Leave us for a bit, won't you? We have to talk business."

Regina was the only one that saw the dark look cross Neal's face when Gold addressed him as Bae. She felt a stirring of sympathy for the boy – she'd heard her story. She knew what it was to love and hate a parent.

"Sure, papa. I was going to the store anyway. Do you need anything?" He slid his wallet into his pocket and paused at the front door but Gold shook his head no. Neal nodded to Regina and waved a goodbye.

The business began immediately.

"I want her fixed," Regina demanded.

"Magic comes with a price, dearie," was his rather unimaginative comeback. "What would you give me?"

"You are her father-in-law," Regina shot back, only for both of them to scrunch their faces in confusion. "Mostly," she conceded. "And you are definitely Henry's grandfather."

"True. But I'm asking _you_," he said, coming out from behind the counter. "What would _you_ give me to fix this?"

Regina narrowed her eyes at the man, searching his face for an answer. After a moment, she spotted a tiny flicker and she began to laugh. It was not an amused laugh. It was cold and cruel - almost surprised that he would try to make her into a fool. "You don't know, do you?" He grimaced. "You don't know what's wrong and you don't know who did it."

Gold rested his hands on his cane and frowned genially at the woman. "I must admit, I was hoping you would let slip."

Regina bared her teeth in a smile. "I know two things for certain. It was a potion," she said and then drew out the moment, delighting in what she was about to tell him. "And they made it in _your_ store."

A thunderstorm seemed to roll over Gold's face. "In my store?" he asked, his voice a moment away from fury.

"Where else? I have protective barriers over my home and the fairies…" She snorted. "They wouldn't dare to touch Devil's Snare."

"No," he mused. "They wouldn't. But my store is-"

He was interrupted by the tinkling of the store bell and both Regina and Gold turned to look at the intruders.

"Henry," Regina gasped. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "We got bored."

"We?" Gold asked, moving toward the boy.

"Yeah." Henry looked behind himself and then rolled his eyes, marched out of the store, disappeared for a moment, and then returned, marching with Emma's sleeve in his grip. "Emma, I told you to stick with me," he could be heard grumbling. She rubbed her cheek on the top of his head.

"Henry," Regina said again. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, well, I got bored when you left 'cause Emma just sat at the door. I think she was waiting for you to come back?" Spying Regina, Emma bounced over to her, walked around her to check that she was okay, and then stood behind Regina and rested her chin on her shoulder.

"Well that's certainly a development," Gold chuckled when Regina didn't immediately shrug Emma away or set her on fire. Regina froze in place, realising the ammunition that she had given Gold. Emma bared her teeth in a silent snarl at the man. After a moment, Gold spoke again. "I assume you would like to see my inventory then." Regina nodded. "I give nothing away for free, you know."

At that, one person felt something more than just a stirring of anger. Emma was roused only slightly from her dog-like state. Not enough to talk, no, but enough to know what she had to do.

The others watched as she bounded away from Regina's side, over to a shelf of rather expensive, very fragile creations. She turned, looked Gold dead in the eye and then allowed a burgeoning smile to touch her lips, promising something he would not care for. She raised a hand and cupped it around a glass figurine.

"Now, Miss Swan," he said cautiously. He got no further.

Emma tipped it from its shelf and watched as it crashed to the floor. He protected it, lunging forward to encase it in his magic. But did that stop Emma? No. She tipped all of those glass figures to the floor before darting to the other side of the store, throwing and tipping objects in a chaotic mess. Regina and Henry stood in the centre, aghast. And finally, finally, Gold shouted.

"Enough!" he shouted, freezing Emma and all the items in place. "Make her stop," he hissed to Henry.

Henry smirked and Gold huffed a grumbling sigh. Like mother like son, obviously. "I think my mom was talking to you, Mr Gold."

"What do you want?" Gold then hissed to Regina.

"I would like to look at your inventory. And then, you are going to help us fix Emma. For free. Otherwise she may be inclined to do this _far_ more often. Harmless, yes, but irritating, isn't it?"

Gold hesitated before clicking his fingers, releasing Emma and returning everything to its rightful place. "Right this way," he gritted out, bowing and showing the way to his basement.

* * *

"And you are sure this is all that is missing?" Regina asked. She looked the epitome of focused, the sleeves of her blazer rolled up in a casually rumpled sort of way and a little crease in her forehead from her frown as she stared at the sheet.

"_Positive_," Gold said.

goat stomach

a splash of This and That (to which Regina rolled her eyes, recognising the vile concoction, and raised a brow at Gold)

blueberry essence

devils snare

wolf hair

1 vial of snake venom

sweet mint

dog saliva

rose

devils snare

herbs – agrimony, basil, bergamot, a healthy dose of cardamom, deers tongue leaf, fennel seeds, mace

a drop of love

Regina ran a shaking hand over the list again and again, configuring the potion in different way. The snake venom first, perhaps? Venom and blueberry to counter one another – that would form an adequate base, acidic to receive the other ingredients but bodied enough to even out the effects. But the others…what kind of potion had they attempted to make? This and That was rare – a Rumple specialty. No one truly knew what was in it or anything about it other than the fact that it made potions incredibly potent. Which was also filed under 'not good'. Soon enough she came to the end of the list and her eyes alighted on the last few ingredients. Her eyes devoured the words and her mind obediently conjured their uses. Moments later, Regina sighed.

"Gold. Do you know what this means? Have you deduced what potion was being made?" Her voice was cool, firm. Calm. It did not suggest the quivering fear that had nestled beneath Regina's breastbone.

"Yes," he said. And he sounded not a bit gleeful about it. Even Rumple, strange and dark as he was, had his limits.

"This was a love potion," she said flatly.

"Yes," he said again. "And you know how I feel about those." _Love is love and it is _never_ to be recreated. Taken, yes, blinded even, made to be forgotten, but never falsely forged. To do so would be to undermine the power of True Love_. And Rumple had always had a stock in True Love. On the very few occasions that Rumple hadn't gotten his way, it had been accountable to True Love and that made it a very worthy opponent indeed. "I offer my assistance," Gold said with a bow. It too lacked his normal flourish. He was certainly affected.

"How?" Regina asked, exhausted. "There are no potions I know of, no spells that can counter such a potion. An amateur made this, I have no doubt of that. It is too…" Gold nodded, agreeing with her assessment. He offered a word.

"Potent." He shook his head. "She could easily have been killed by this. We must give thanks that Miss Swan is truly as powerful as True Love has rendered her."

"She is as powerful as she is because it is _her_, Gold. _She_ is strong," Regina snapped. "This is not because her idiotic parents kissed and shot white magic from their lips."

Gold bowed his head. "Of course. My apologies."

Regina sniffed but settled back onto the stool. "Now tell me. How do we fix this?"

Gold thought briefly on what he would need and then gathered the materials, snatching plants and herbs and various instruments from about his store. "I have preparations to make," he informed his former pupil. "If you would be so kind to gather Miss Swan's parents and loved ones – perhaps at your home? You do have so much more space than I," he said, gesturing to his cluttered abode.

"Very well," she agreed stiffly. "And then?"

"And then we will begin. One hour."

"One hour."

* * *

The agreed upon time came and went. Henry had been moved to his room where he was keeping Emma company. The poor woman was confused and shaking. There were too many people crowded into Regina's living room and it had made her proverbial hackles rise and her tail, if she had still had one, would have been tucked firmly between her legs. They were all loud, they smelt funny, and they weren't Regina or Henry. She didn't like them.

Ruby wasn't so bad. Emma leant into the woman when she plopped down on Henry's bed and patted the blonde on the head. "Hey kid," Ruby greeted. "Your mom wants you to stay here, okay?"

"What? No! I can help!"

"Whoa, hey, we know you can," the young woman soothed. "But we don't know how dark the magic is gonna be, right? And your mom doesn't want you exposed to something like that. So come on. Just listen to her this time, okay?"

Henry glared at the floor stubbornly for a moment before jerking his head in a nod. "Fine," he muttered.

"Yeah?" Ruby narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You aren't lying to me?"

Henry shook his head. His face relaxed and he shrugged. "I get it. She's protecting me. I promise I won't come downstairs."

Ruby smiled with relief. "Okay, good. Now I'm sorry but I've got to borrow Emma." She stood and held out a hand to Emma before realising the woman wouldn't know what to do with it. Or maybe she had a better idea. Emma shoved her head into Ruby's hand and smiled blissfully when the wolf-woman scratched at her scalp. "Come on," she murmured. "Let's get you back to normal."

Emma followed Ruby to the door but, sensing something was wrong, jogged back to Henry for a nuzzle. He laughed and hugged her tight around the neck.

"Ma," he whispered. "If something goes wrong, I love you." There was a moment as Emma's muscles tensed and then Henry was being lifted off the floor in a strong embrace. Emma clutched him to her and rested her head on his.

"Kid, nothing's going to go wrong." She lowered him to the floor again and, copying that gesture she'd seen Regina do so many times before, brushed his hair off his forehead. "And I love you too." Before him, her eyes flashed gold again and she was gone. Henry turned away after shoving Emma away, towards Ruby. And it killed the waitress to leave him knowing that he was crying but the sooner this was over, the sooner _both_ his mothers could comfort him. Ruby tugged Emma from the room.

Unfortunately, downstairs was close to a battlefield. And the odds were far from even. One side of the room was occupied – the Charmings at the fore, backed by the townsfolk that had joined them. Leroy, Happy, and Doc from the dwarves stood at the Charmings shoulders. Nova, Astrid stood with them also. A bored looking Dr Whale lingered on the sidelines, lounging on the arm of a couch. Regina shot him a fiery look, hating that he was in her home, despising it. But Emma would need to be assessed after to deem the process a success and, technically, he _was_ a doctor. Granny and Archie stood firmly in no mans land, no bothering with any of these politics. Ruby made her way over to Granny and shrugged at a shocked Snow. And Emma? Emma just bounded happily over to Regina's side and hid behind her, her eyes flicking from apparently stranger to stranger. She smooshed her nose against Regina's shoulder and cowered a little.

"You're quite alright," Regina murmured to Emma. "Everything will be fine after this." She cut a sharp glance at her front door, which she could just see around the door frame. "If only Gold would show up."

"I'm here, dearie," said the imp. Regina managed not to flinch. No one else was quite so prepared and she could make out varying degrees of fear flicker over their faces. "Now, now, no need for weapons. We're all friends here."

Regina frowned at Charming who had indeed brought along and drawn his sword. She raised a brow at him. The man shrugged. "It makes me feel safer." Snow patted his arm when Regina rolled her eyes.

"The process is very simple," Gold stated. He flourished his arms into the air, which slid his sleeves down to his elbows to reveal complex rune-work covering his forearms. Regina looked more closely. They appeared to be written in blood.

"Oh yes, very simple. Just Elder runes written in what, dragon blood?" She scoffed.

"Precautions, dearie," Gold soothed in a manner most un-soothing. "Precautions. To hold us to," he paused, looking at the citizens who were very unused to the faults of magic. "To hold us in place." Regina heard the words he wasn't saying. To hold us _here_. To this plane of existence. She felt a shiver run through her body but nodded.

"Excellent." His foot tapped on the hardwood floor and Regina gritted her teeth as runes etched themselves into the floor. She'd never get those scratches out. "Then allow me to explain." He beckoned Emma, who refused to move. Regina placed a hand on the small of her back and pushed her very lightly forward, making the woman inch very, very slowly toward the man. He placed a hand on her head and Regina could see the magic soothing her, moving through her. Soon she was in a trance. "Emma is not in her right mind – quite literally," he laughed. "Her mind has been replaced as one of a canine variety. So, we must return her to her own mind. Now the process," he said as he petted Emma's head, "is very simple. We need an anchor, one of you," he gestured to those gather, "and we need a magic user. Me."

"And what is the job of the anchor?" Snow called out.

"Very simple, very simple. To keep Emma here. Bound. To think of everything the woman is and to bring her home."

"That would be us," Charming stated. "We will find her. We will always find her."

There was a moment of silence and a very few nods before Ruby winced and stepped forward. "Um, guys you know that I love you but…" she took in a fortifying breath. "This is about Emma. And I don't think you guys really know her that well." Her voice trailed off as she spoke and she quickly stepped back toward her Granny.

"She is our _daughter_," Snow responded, hurt that Ruby would say such a thing.

"No, Miss Lucas is correct," Regina said. "You simply do not have a strong enough bond with Emma. She _attacked_ you in this form." Regina pondered for a moment. "I believe that Miss Lucas should do it." There were a few mores nods before a click of disagreement from Gold.

"Sorry dearies. Not possible. Has to be of familial relation. Or," he said slowly, "another magic user."

"The Blue Fairy then!" Snow blurted out, desperate for this not to go the way she dreaded it was going.

"I've only met your daughter a handful of times," the woman said with regret. "I'm sorry, Snow. I do not feel comfortable doing so."

"Well," Gold announced. "That leaves us just a single option." He turned to Regina. "Centre stage, dearie."

Regina felt her feet bringing her close and knew that Snow was crying out and disagreeing but couldn't hear her. Before she could truly understand what she was doing, she had kicked off her heels and let her feet touch onto the rune circle. A blinding flash spun up her body and then, terrifyingly, Regina found she couldn't move.

_Don't panic, _she heard the voice somewhere between her ears and the base of her neck. _You cannot move._

_I can tell!_ she replied tersely, still uncomfortable with the sensation of paralysis. _Gold_? she inquired after a moment. _What do I do_?

_I will bring Miss Swan into the circle in just a moment. Prepare yourself, Regina. _His voice was solemn_. This may be painful. _He paused_. Do not lose yourself,_ he cautioned. _The urge to wander from the path will be great. Do. Not. Get lost. _

_There will be pathways then, where we will be?_

_I don't know,_ he admitted._ I only know that there will be the strongest sensation of joy, of rapture. That it will entice you. And I know that you must find Miss Swan and reattach her to her body. _

Regina, in her mind for her body would not obey her, tightened her lips with determination and nodded her head. _I am ready_.

_Very well. Here she is._ She could see the faint movement and then there was another blinding flash and suddenly, suddenly she was there she was connected and there was everything and everyone and oh it was so bright and so strong the pull and

_Focus, Regina,_ were the last lingering words Gold had for her. They would have to do. She steeled her nerves and settled into herself.

Then she opened her eyes. It was light all around. Very bright and warm. Regina dared not move. She let her eyes focus and slowly an indistinct shape formed opposite her. Regina glanced down and, sure enough, burning brighter than anything else in this white-fire world, was the rune circle. And connected to it was that indistinct shape, empty of anything but the briefest flickers of life.

_Emma_, Regina gasped, realising what that shape was. It was Emma but so empty so distant. _Emma, what has happened to you_?

And then a miraculous thing began. Simply thinking of Emma caused the woman to appear inside her shadow, still not in focus and some details a little hazy, but she was there. But, Regina realised, still empty.

_Think. Think about Miss Swan. That's all you have to do_. So Regina did. Regina thought of the stubborn, infuriating, irritating, intimidating, self-assured, confident sheriff that she knew. The woman who could find anyone. The woman who could wield a gun and seemed to enjoy driving such a potentially dangerous vehicle such as her precious 'Bug'. Into each of these, Regina tried to force those memories that imprint upon you. The little smirk that would tilt Emma's lips every time they had a fight. The glower that creased her forehead when she, inevitably, lost. The way she would stand, hand on her gun, star proudly on her hip. The sweet smile she got every time she defended her Bug.

Next was Henry. Perhaps, Regina worried, she should have started with Henry. After all, everything that had happened began and ended with their son. Regina remembered the sweet, slightly awkward Emma that had returned Henry. The charming if not obviously somehow broken woman – the memory returned so forcefully that Regina had no choice but push it along to the other woman. The lingering nervous steps, following Regina into her home. Clutching at her glass with relief. The quick glances at all the fine furniture. A woman clearly out of place and trying to hold herself together. And then, just a day later, so put together and defiant. Regina had admired that about her. Well, hated it. Now she admired it in some way.

Emma – saving her from the fire. Emma – befriending Mary Margaret, working with Sidney, confronting her, playing with Henry, talking with Graham, working, sharing her walkie talkies with Henry, drinking and eating at the diner, the curse, her relationship with her parents, Emma smiling Emma laughing Emma frowning Emma hugging Emma scared Emma so protective Emma saving Henry Emma _saving Henry_ Emma throwing her against the wall of the hospital, yelling yelling fear right into her face

Emma leaning against her. A warmth. Emma smiling. Emma begging her to let Henry go to afternoon tea with her. Emma wordlessly doing everything she asked – Emma _smiling_. At _her. _Emma knocking on her door for once. Emma avoiding Mary Margaret Emma listening when Regina said no to icecream for Henry Emma making Henry do his homework Emma asking how her day was Emma trying to make small talk Emma comforting her after her fight with Henry Emma protecting Henry Emma staying with her Emma standing up for her. Just _Emma_.

And there it was. That beckoning, calling. The white settled around Regina and she could feel every inch of her sparkling with life, with Emma, with memories and thoughts and dreams that made her nerves itch and her mind splutter, coming to a grinding halt. Go, her mind urged her, take Emma and go. Stay here. Stay here forever its so beautiful here.

_Regina_, she heard. _Let's go home. Come on. Take my hand_. She reached out, not quite sure what she was reaching for. She was relieved when she touched firm, warm flesh. She squeezed. With a pulse. _Let's go home_.

* * *

"Regina? Regina!" There were hands on her, urgent hands shaking. "Regina, can you hear me?"

"Everyone can hear you, Snow," Regina grumbled. "What are you doing in my home?" There was a moment's silence and then Regina remembered. She sat up and fought against the dizziness and the dark that threatened to pull her under again. "What happened? Did it work? Is she okay?"

Her heart was thumping so fast and no one spoke for a long time. Then Gold was there and offering his hand and she was dizzy and nervous so she took it. He helped her to her feet and nodded, just once.

"She's this way."

Regina stumbled slightly as she walked into her office, where clearly Emma had been moved. The moment she stumbled, however, her back stiffened until she could do nothing but walk with the most regal bearing, not wanting anyone behind her or watching her to see her weakness. "Emma," she murmured.

The blonde's hair was positioned neatly and her hands folded over her stomach in a sleeping pose. Regina sneered. Dwarves. So odd when people are sleeping. The queen slowly knelt beside the sleeping woman and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Emma?"

**Okay how was that? I wrote it really quick because I just wanted it to be done. I really wanted you guys to get it. If you don't like it, let me know and I'll rework it. I'm a little worried about it. Anyway, let me know in reviews or message me on tumblr (elizadownunder). Happy reading, readers :)**


	8. A New Leash on Life

**Every Dog Has Its Day: Chapter Eight**

**I don't own Once Upon A Time.**

**Please enjoy.**

**(Ahem. To those of you who read Coffee To Go, I have not forgotten about it. I'm working on it, I promise. To those of you who haven't read it, maybe check it out? It's fun and yes this is shameless promotion of my other stories. Fly, my pretties, and read, read!)**

A New Leash on Life:

The stars burnt her. She could feel them even deep inside her home. And they whispered, god how they whispered.

_Go to her, touch, make sure she's okay, see that she breathes, see how her eyelashes curl, touch her hand, slide your fingers into hers, do it, do it, go to her_

"Shut up," she hissed, spinning away from the closed door. "Shut up. Leave me alone." But of course there was no whispering in the murky corridor, and there were no stars to glare at because she was alone. Alone in her home despite the two beating hearts she could hear – one high and childish in its galloping beat, and the other, god. The other a low thunder, a slow deep beat that made her shiver. She placed her hand against the wood of the door. It was just behind here.

_Open it_

"Shut it," she snarled again, ripping her hand away from the cool wood. She waited but the whispers had stopped. Her hand dropped to the handle and waited for gleeful mutterings – silence. She pushed the door open and slid inside, closing it behind her. Silence. A hush of breath. A slight flutter of eyelids. A strong, beating heart.

She was beside the bed before she knew it, peering down at the sleeping woman. It had been a long time since she'd been healed. Over twelve hours. A silly thought occurred to her, that the woman only needed a catalyst to wake. She bent down and, scolding herself slightly, pressed her lips to those below her.

She pulled away quickly and straightened her jacket. She nodded at the sleeping woman and murmured a quiet "sleep well, Emma" before she fled. She missed the hand that stretched out toward her, she missed the strong flutter of eyelids as they ached to open against the weight of slumber, and she missed the faint sigh of a name lost in the night sky for only the stars to hear.

"_Regina_"

* * *

It was morning, Emma thought. Or maybe late afternoon? She blinked and peered at the curtains –_ those are nice. I don't remember those in my room_ – that let the warm light in. It was bright and orange and spikes of pain shot through her brain when she tried to figure out whether those were morning birds or evening birds singing. So, instead of thinking, she turned over in the bed, groaned, and pulled the sheet over her head. She relaxed in the luxurious darkness.

"I don't even care," she mumbled into her pillow. "Stupid light and stupid head." She drove said head hard into the pillow and sighed. There. No light.

It was only a few minutes later, or was it perhaps a very long time later? Emma had no idea which was correct. She didn't care. But whichever it was, all she knew was that a bony finger poked her in the shoulder and a tentative voice spoke.

"Emma?"

"Wha?" she grunted. A loud gasp was the only warning she had before a body flung itself on top of her. "Oh my god!" Emma yelled, struggling under the weight of that surprise attack. "What the hell?" She bucked and twisted but an instant later, recognising the voice, she relaxed.

"Emma!" Henry's near-chokehold tightened around Emma's neck and shoulders and she slowly rearranged herself so she could sit up and hold him tight. She brushed her head against his in a movement she vaguely recognised as a nuzzle – weird, she though, but it felt normal and right in a way that physical affection never really had so she let it happen.

"Hey kid," she said softly. "You're okay." Her hand rubbed soothing circles on his back. "You're okay." she asked quietly. Henry shook his head, pulling away and shuffling off the bed. He sniffled once and frowned, roughly wiping his nose on his wrist. "Kid, hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothin'," he mumbled. "I'm just really glad that you're back."

"_Back_?" Emma frowned and swung her legs out of bed. She took a few unsteady steps and grabbed his shoulders, kneeling so she could look up at him. From those little movements she could tell that something had been wrong. She was weak and limp and that in itself was uncomfortable. But the pounding in the back of her head had also returned. "What do you mean by 'back'?"

She looked at his face – sad but suddenly stubborn – and assessed the weird aching in her chest and hands and head. Emma abruptly recalled in spinning colours and fluxing sounds the terrible pain in her stomach and falling to the ground and the burn that spread through her body and settled in her head making her want to scream scream loudly but she couldn't because Henry was there little Henry and she didn't want to scare him.

Her hands moved down his arms so that she could hold his hands. "Oh god. _Kid_." She brushed her hands over his head and down his arms again. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"Christ, I must have really scared you. I mean, me falling over and all that. Did your mom find you?" Henry nodded. "Thank god." Thank you god for Regina.  
"How long was I out for?"

Henry scrunched his nose and gave her the typical teenage shrug that was indecipherable and had infinite possible meanings. Then he actually answered. "I guess…a week?"

"A _week_?" Emma flinched at her own raised voice and rubbed her head hard with her knuckles, wishing she could chase out that pounding. "Jesus. I'm never eating at Granny's again." Her stomach growled and she shrugged, grinning a half-grin. "Okay, maybe later today I will but I'm really annoyed about that. What did I have? Food poisoning or something?" She stood, legs still shaking a little, and sat on the edge of her bed.

She frowned and ran her hand over the sheets. "Huh. These are nice." Emma looked up at the neat furnishings and impeccable surroundings. "Uh, Henry?"

"Yep?"

"Are we – is this…your mom's house?"

"Yeah. Guest room. Why?"

"Have I been here the whole time?" Emma gasped. When Henry nodded, Emma groaned. "Oh god. Oh no. What did I do? Do I do embarrassing stuff? Did I puke on her? What the hell happened?" Henry hesitated, unsure which to answer first, but Emma just kept going. "She looked _after_ me?"

"Yes." Henry smiled a little. "She looked after you. Actually we both did, me and mom. But yeah, mom looked after you the whole time. Like when I was at school and stuff." He bit his lip and Emma made herself sit down and not pelt more questions at him, recognising that her son wasn't quite finished talking. "And it maybe kinda wasn't quite food poisoning and was maybe…sort of…magical?"

Emma took a moment to think about that. "How magical?"

"Very."

"What was it?"

"Mom said a potion."

"Huh." Emma ran her hands through her hair and frowned. "What happened?"

"Umm…I can't say." Emma narrowed her eyes and Henry raised his hands up in surrender. "I'm not supposed to tell you! Mom said if you don't remember then I'm not allowed to say anything. You gotta figure it out by yourself. Sorry."

Emma just shrugged and nodded. The last time she'd had a concussion – years ago, on the job – she'd suffered slight memory loss and the doctors had said the same thing.

"Alright. Fair enough. So, no, wait. What am I still doing at your moms if I'm all better now?"

Henry shrugged. "Mom fixed you but she got really cranky when Grams tried to take you back to her place. So I told Grams that mom had comfy beds and that I'd call her if you woke up." His face fell into a fearful frown. "Oh I should do that now!" He hugged Emma quickly and then sprinted from the room. "Glad you're better, ma!"

Emma considers his use of 'ma' for a moment or two before shrugging. He probably meant it as a nickname. A fierce hunger made itself known just above her stomach that tattooed into her skin that hoped he hadn't. She shook her head though, banishing and brushing aside the hunger – both literal and figurative because now her stomach was growling and telling her that she hadn't eaten in what felt like days – to stand once more. She had to talk to Regina.

But first, bathroom.

* * *

There was a knock on her office door, a pause, and then a second more tentative knock. Regina frowned. If that was Snow coming back to talk…it sounded like the kind of knock that timid Mary Margaret would knock. Regina's frown deepened. If that woman had let herself into her home, they would be having serious words. Because, _honestly_. Regina had had quite enough of them for a lifetime and her latest grievance – a fierce, near bloody 'discussion' over where Emma should stay – was still fresh in her mind. She wasn't sure she could promise not to blow Snow away in crackling flames.

A smirk covered Regina's face as she opened the door – and dropped away a moment later when Emma smiled at her, just a tiny shy quirk of the lips before it fell.

"Hey."

"Hey." Aside from that one word, Regina was struck dumb. That was odd for her. She was always ready with some witticism or other but now…Emma was talking. Human. She was wearing her jacket and clearly had washed her face. She'd put her hair up in a messy braid and she was smiling and her hands were tucked into her pockets and her shoulders curled a little protectively over herself and her eyes were guarded and deep and, god, just like they always had been _before_ and Regina felt like crying because Emma was back and that's all she'd really wanted.

"Regina!" she heard Emma calling and she felt warm hands on her elbows as her legs tried to collapse out from underneath her.

The embarrassment of being caught by Emma Swan stiffened Regina's spine and knees and she stepped away, clutching her arms close and folded across her stomach. _Don't come too close_, her body language screamed. Emma had no choice but to shove her hands in her pockets but she hovered. Boy, did she hover.

She couldn't seem to move past the door. Something was stopping her. But then Henry nudged her across the threshold, needing to get in to grab something or other from the room, and Emma was bombarded by strange images. Her eyes unfocused and her hand gripped the doorframe tightly. Henry ducked out again a second later, unaware.

"What the fuck?" she muttered, eyes closing tight against the visions too dark for her to decipher. She brought her other hand up to massage the bridge of her nose.

"_Language_," Regina hissed. Henry was somewhere in the house and he had obnoxiously sensitive ears.

"Sorry."

"I don't believe you are but I'm afraid I've no time to argue with you, sheriff. How," she paused. Swallowed. "How are you feeling?"

Regina's tone was cool and reserved and Emma shivered. For some reason, Regina talking to her like that was…wrong. Which was strange, wasn't it? Because Regina hated her, had always hated her, had always spoken to her like that. But Emma swore that she could recall a warm voice wrapping around her like a blanket, like holding hands, like the familiar taste of hot chocolate on a cold morning and she knew that voice was Regina's. But it must have been a dream.

"Um…" Emma blinked, trying to remember what she'd been asked. "Yeah, I'm alright. A bit of a headache but fine, I guess." Regina nodded stiffly. "Henry, um, he said that you looked after me while I was sick so, you know, thanks for that." The darker woman nodded again.

"I'm glad." Emma's head jerked up from where her eyes had meandered down to the floor nervously. She searched the woman's face, stepping forward slightly, unable to resist. That was it! That was the voice! Sure, it was a little colder than she remembered it but that warmth and sweet intonation was there. "What?" Regina snapped.

"I, you, I remember," she murmured. Regina raised her brows. "Something. It's…" Emma shook her head and rubbed at it again, digging her knuckles into the skin of her forehead. There was something sitting there_ itching_ there, some thought that was trying to make itself loudly known. If only she could reach it. "Something's different, Regina," she said lowly. Emma met Regina's eyes and shivered again. This time, it was because those deep dark eyes were watching her intently, curious and perhaps a little afraid. "Why are you scared?" she asked. She stepped farther into the office.

"I am not scared," Regina said stiffly.

"Lying." Regina blinked. Emma smiled. "I can tell, remember? Superpower. So," Emma shrugged. "Why are you scared?"

Regina sighed. "Come in," she commanded. Emma allowed herself a little smile. That was a queen alright. "Sit." And, when Emma sat, Regina's lips quirked a little. "_Stay_." Emma rolled her eyes but enjoyed the little sneaky smile Regina held.

The woman sat on the couch opposite Emma and let her hand settle on the armrest. It began to tap a slow beat. "I had to heal you," Regina said slowly. "And it was an endeavour. Difficult. Something I had never done before."

Emma nodded. "So, what? You're scared that you stuffed it up?"

"Yes."

"Don't be. I feel fine. I mean, besides this headache. But I think that'll go away once I figure out what happ-" Emma froze, those visions assaulting her again. Only this time she could actually make out some of it. Regina was standing over her and that voice, sharp, sounded like it was moving sluggishly through the air to her ears. _Miss Swan_. And then _she was touching her and her hand shook Emma's shoulder and - _

"Emma?" Regina was kneeling in front of her now and Emma blinked her way out of the fog. "Emma, are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. I just…" she gasped and then shook her head. "Holy shit. Did I _lick_ you?" Emma's mouth dropped open and her eyes widened as images flickered in front of her in greys and whites and alongside them, memories. But not memories that Emma would ever have attributed to herself. They were just so _unnatural_. Emma remembered being focused on three things – food, sleep, and her family. Henry…and Regina.

She was brought out of her mind when Regina laughed and shuddered. "Yes, you did." Regina patted Emma's knee and then used it to push her up, moving to sit with the blonde. "Henry too."

"Ew gross." Emma's nose crinkled. "I didn't."

"You did." Regina hesitated. "Do you remember why?"

"Not really. It's weird." Emma rubbed her face hard and then ran both hands through her hair, frustrated. She'd been racking her brain ever since Henry had told her she needed to remember by herself but couldn't remember why, couldn't remember what exactly had happened. "Like, I remember falling over and being in pain," she noticed but ignored the way Regina's mouth flinched, "and then it's kinda just me here."

"I see." Regina settled back against the cushions. "I can't tell you what happened."

Emma flapped her hand, dismissing that. "I know, I know." She kicked off her shoes without even thinking about it, tucking her feet beneath her and letting her muscles relax as she sprawled into the couch. She made eye contact with Regina and blushed, immediately unfolding herself and half-standing, ready to run. "God, I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that."

"It's fine," Regina said, waving her back. Emma slowly settled again. She _knew_ that it was fine. Regina said so but she felt it somewhere in her chest that this was the right place for her right here with Regina's warmth on her side and this nice smelling couch and cushions but – Emma's frown came back and she bit her lip – she just couldn't remember why. "You look tired," the darker woman commented.

"Yeah. Weird isn't it? Henry said I've been out of it for a week so I really shouldn't be tired."

"He said that?" Regina sounded surprised.

Emma frowned and thought about it. "Er, well, not exactly. But, what…was I awake for the whole thing? What the hell happened?" Regina pressed her lips together and Emma groaned. "Fine, yeah, you can't tell me." A moment later, "Can you give me a _hint_?"

"Emma," Regina scolded.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

There was some silence then, not choking them but just settling over Emma and letting her think and giving Regina a little space to just watch the woman that she was nervous she'd broken she'd ruined.

"Why don't you sleep?" Regina suggested, the words spilling out when she saw Emma yawn.

"You sure? I'm...I don't want to intrude or anything." Emma glanced at the woman, who just nodded. "Okay. Get off my couch," she mumbled, already clutching a pillow to her chest. Regina feigned anger but obediently stood, allowing Emma to shuffle down until she could curl up and snuggle into the cushions.

"I have a perfectly serviceable guest bed, I hope you realise." Emma shrugged. "Really? You'd rather sleep here?"

"Are you gonna come upstairs with me?" Regina faltered at the question.

"Well, no. I have work to do."

"Here?" Regina nodded. "Then I'm gonna stay here. It's comfy and I don't want to be alone." There wasn't much that Regina could say about that – other than 'did I impress upon you my loneliness when I remade you did I do that is this my fault?' – but she recalled that perhaps, yes, maybe Emma had always been like this but now she felt she _could_ be like this. And so she just nodded and let Emma lay there, moving to her desk to work.

"Can I stay for dinner?" a sleep voice interrupted her an hour or so later. "I think I might've snapped at my parents at some point. Is that right?" Regina snorted.

"Yes."

"Can I stay?"

Regina paused. "Yes." Emma yawned and buried her face in the pillow. She mumbled into it. "What was that, dear?"

"Will you make lasagne?"

Regina smiled down at her papers, papers that Snow had dropped off over a week ago from the mayors office, and nodded. "We'll see." She glanced up at Emma. "Go back to sleep."

"'Kay."

* * *

Emma trotted into the kitchen later that afternoon as it edged onto evening and stood behind her son, who was cheekily stuffing his face with pre-dinner nibbles every time Regina turned away to check on dinner. She sleepily laid her chin on the top of his head and her arms over his shoulders.

"Hey Emma," he said.

"Hey kid," she muttered.

"Sleep well?"

"Mm."

"Remember anything?"

"No." Emma paused. "Maybe. Did you make me eat off the floor?" she muttered into the space, directing the question at both of them. "And I found a twig in my hair."

"Um,"

"Well," Regina and Henry began. Emma waved a hand.

"Whatever. I smell food." She sniffled the air, craning her neck. "Lasagne?"

"Yes dear."

"You're a goddess." She beamed at Regina, who rolled her eyes. "God, I'm so hungry."

"That's because mom kept forgetting to feed you." Regina scowled at her son. "What? You did. I had to set an alarm for you, mom." Henry shook his head. "You didn't really pay attention to her."

"I'm wounded," Emma murmured, still not moving from her warm little son. She wanted to hug and nuzzle him again. She didn't.

"Oh save it. You reminded me often enough that you needed to be fed." Regina's words sparked a little something – face first in that bowl, licking it clean, delicious food, relaxing at her feet full belly content – and Emma blinked unsteadily.

"Yeah, sure," Emma agreed. Then she wandered off.

Regina stared after her and then nudged her son. "Make sure she's okay, dear," she urged. Henry stole another handful of food and, smiling cheekily as she threateningly waved the wooden spoon, ran off after his other mother.

He found her in the backyard, plucking at the grass beneath the apple tree. "Mom would hate it if she saw you doing that." Emma glanced up, searching the windows to make sure that Regina couldn't see her. Then she started plucking again.

"Henry, the potion did something…weird, yeah?" Henry shrugged noncommittally. "No, seriously kid. I'm thinking some weird things." He watched her as she spoke, dark eyes following her rapid and anxious movements. "Like, I licked your face and I had a stick in my mouth and I fell asleep at the foot of your moms bed?" She glanced at him sideways, waiting for him to disagree. He didn't. "And I had really bad table manners – I wasn't even at the _table_." Henry grinned.

"I can't tell you, ma." Emma nodded, shrugged. "Come on. Let's eat – I'm starving."

"Well, I can't deprive you of food kid or your mom will kill me. Come on." She hauled herself up and then offered her hands to Henry, yanking him up strong and fast so he yelped and laughed when she caught him and ruffled his hair.

* * *

Regina offered to let her stay the night. It was late and Emma still had that pounding headache and her eyes hurt and she didn't want to have to deal with Snow and David if she had, as she thought she had, almost attacked them. She couldn't remember quite what she'd done but she remembered a trembling protective anger and Snow's shocked face. She wanted to remember before she talked to them.

Henry said they would wait.

It was late, very late, when Emma wandered into Regina's bedroom. She sat on the end of the bed and Regina woke to piercing green eyes, unblinking.

"Hi," the blonde murmured. She was clutching her knees. One hand let go to trace over the pattern of the bedspread. "Regina?"

Dark eyes blinked.

"Was I a dog?"

A nod. A sigh. A little shift and a tilt of the head that was an invitation so loud she might have well have said it out aloud. Emma scrambled up the bed and turned so their legs stretched long down the bed and they propped their shoulders against the head board and her hand traced the pattern again, circle circle circle – hand. Regina pressed her hand down on the back of Emma's.

"You were still you, Emma," she said. The low murmur made the silence of the house ripple.

"But I was a dog."

"Perhaps." Regina let her brow crinkle. Emma watched it. The stars brushed over her profile and set those little things into sharp relief that Emma hadn't noticed. Like long eyelashes and a thick pout and the shadow of her upper eyelid. "But you were still you. Body, feelings…idiocy." Her lips curved.

"Funny."

"Thank you. You were still as human as ever," Regina said, explaining further. "You just happened to bark and roll around in the grass. Your mind was simply somewhat canine."

"You looked after me," Emma said.

"You didn't give me much of a choice. Everyone else you found rather unacceptable – too annoying, too wolfish, too not your type." Regina's fingers twitched over Emma's. "You tried to attack your parents, remember?" Emma closed her eyes.

"Yeah." She laughed a little, tempering it so their protective quiet didn't shatter. She didn't want that. She didn't know _what_ she wanted but this – this Regina? It felt perfect and right and familiar and it was such a contrast to everything she knew before because she'd never felt this not for anyone ever and she'd certainly never had this with Regina but a week, a week gone from her memory and now she had this. Sure, there were glimpses but it was like a movie that she'd paid scant attention to and not only that it was in black and white and greys and jumped like a hyperactive kitten. "Yeah," she just said again. "I did."

"I'm sorry," Regina said later. Emma blinked her eyes open.

"What for?"

"That this happened to you. That you were forced to be vulnerable. I didn't want that." There was a choked quality to Regina's voice that said _now I'm vulnerable _and_ I didn't mean to say that much_. And Emma understood. In those words she'd said a lot. And all of it made Emma close her eyes again and relax into the soft bed and the comfortable space Regina offered her right here.

"Thanks."

**I hope that you don't think this is too cheesy or lame (the first part…I thought it was kind of cute) or convenient or anything. I just think that this is how it would happen. I wanted something a little sweet and soft. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and please let me know what you thought. And sorry for spelling mistakes. I know there were a few in the last chapter but I'm trying to spit these chapters out between assignments and stuff so I'm sorry about the shoddy quality. Review or message me or something. Happy reading, readers :)**


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